A few weeks ago, I wrote that the neoconservative chants for unity were completely bogus, and would last only as long as they believed they were getting their foreign policy program enacted:

But the neocons' call for unity means unity behind the project – American hegemony – that they have been recommending for years anyway, a project that, by the way, they hope to lead. Their plea translates to: "Shut up and stop arguing with us." Despite the jawboning about unity, they have no problem trashing the moderate approach of Colin Powell, who, as Secretary of State, is presumably one of the leaders we should be uniting behind.... Should Bush fail to pursue the total war the neocons desire, there is no doubt that they will not be "uniting" behind him either.

Well, Bush has not been quite as vigorous in warring as the neocons would like, and so the gloves are coming off. In the Washington Post, Charles Krauthammer declares:

The war is not going well and it is time to say why. It has been fought with half-measures. It has been fought with an eye on the wishes of our "coalition partners." It has been fought to assuage the Arab "street." It has been fought to satisfy the diplomats rather than the generals.

Again writing in the Post, world-renowned military expert and leader of many successful military campaigns, "Little Billy" Kristol, tells his readers:

Seven weeks after being attacked, three weeks after beginning the bombing of Afghanistan and since the discovery of anthrax here at home, how goes the war?

According to plan, the administration says. Unfortunately, it's a flawed plan.

Rich Lowry, in an article calling US policy contradictory, says: "President Bush's micro-initiatives during the war have been decidedly mushy." The editors of National Review further state: "But we should be impatient for the administration to take the actions necessary to achieve those goals. So far it hasn't."

So much for unity!

But sometimes it isn't fun to be proven right. As Justin Raimondo points out, the neocon efforts are undermining (and are, I think, intended to undermine) Bush's efforts to convince Moslem nations that this is not a war on Islam.

So, fellows, if a lack of unity is treasonous at a time like this, then who's a traitor now?

November 1, 2001