The similarities between today and the lead up to America’s invasion of Iraq in 2003 are terrifying. Yet again hawks are rushing our nation to the precipice of war. Yet again dissent is promptly condemned as unpatriotic. Yet again Republicans in particular are in apparent competition over who can demonstrate the greatest bloodlust.
I say this sadly, not as a liberal, but as a committed conservative and as the head of one of America’s foremost right-of-center magazines. However, the fact remains that just like in the aftermath of 9/11 when the Washington war machine — led by President George W. Bush — whipped the nation into a frenzy to topple Iraq’s Saddam Hussein, yet again the same politicians and the media are driving America toward open conflict with a nuclear-armed Russia. And like before, so-called conservatives are leading the charge.
The Senate’s highest ranking Republican, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, said that America is “not doing nearly enough quickly enough” to engage ourselves in a conflict against Russia, a statement that brushes over the immense amount of aid we’ve already rightly given to Ukraine, not to mention the unprecedented sanctions we have imposed on Russia in response to their unjust war.
At the same time, Sen. Lindsey Graham openly urged the assassination of the head of state of a nuclear-armed nation. A myriad of other elected Republicans not only openly reject pathways to peace, but want NATO or the American military itself to shoot down Russian planes through the institution of a no-fly zone, a clear-cut act of war.
Republicans are certainly not the only ones beating the drums of war, but they are clearly the loudest and the most aggressive.
This rapid resurgence of the neocon, war hawk right comes as a great surprise. It’s as if Republican voters’ decision to twice nominate Donald Trump — who condemned the Iraq war and sought to end America’s foreign entanglements — never happened. Really, it’s as if the past 20 failed nation-building experiments abroad, culminating with the shockingly swift fall of Afghanistan, have been completely forgotten.
The United States has been taught hard lesson after hard lesson in the international arena during the 21st century. As a result, the American people are screaming out that, while we may have no love for Putin and his contemptible acts of aggression, we reject foreign wars and impulsive confrontation. Our leaders’ primary responsibility isn’t to Ukrainians or Afghans, but to Americans — and right now the American people need help. We have a border much closer to home that needs to be secured. We have skyrocketing inflation that’s devastating middle- and working-class Americans. The social bonds of our nation are tearing at the seams.
As the Executive Director of The American Conservative, this resurgence of the trigger-happy right blind to America’s internal troubles yet hyper-invested in disputes around the world is profoundly personal. After our principled stand against the Iraq war, public personalities condemned us as hating America and wishing for the victory of the terrorists — accusations eerily similar to today when those in power smear dissent from the pro-war agenda as support for Vladimir Putin. Ultimately, when Iraq became a quagmire as our magazine’s inaugural cover story predicted, those of us who rejected the war from the outset were vindicated.
If ratcheting up confrontation with Russia leads to a direct conflict, I am certain that those who today are advocating de-escalation and restraint will eventually be vindicated as well. But our goal isn’t to say, “I told you so.” We would rather stop America from getting into another, much more disastrous war in the first place.
That is why we cannot let neocon insanity retake the Republican Party. Fortunately, a new generation of conservative leaders is planting a stake in the ground. Senator Rand Paul has been courageous in standing up against the war machine. Senate candidate JD Vance is distinguishing himself by advocating a foreign policy focus on America’s vital national interests. These intrepid voices and others reveal that the American right is vastly more mature and balanced than it was 20 years ago.
But we can’t backslide. Republican warmongers have diligently taken the bully pulpit and pushed us toward war. The new generation of pro-peace conservatives is now pushing back. Late last month, Senator Paul, JD Vance and a multitude of other sensible leaders gathered together at a snap conference in Washington, D.C., that we at The American Conservative hosted with American Moment entitled “Up From Chaos: Conserving American Security.” At this gathering, these leaders strengthened and advanced a conservative foreign policy movement that rejects the pressures of escalation, counters the jingoists in the Republican Party and focuses on putting America first.
We cannot again let hot rhetoric drag America into a hot conflict. It’s not time to stop the insanity. That time was 20 years ago. But it is better late than never.
Emile Doak is the Executive Director of the American Conservative.