I’m happy that Justin adores Pat’s new book, and it may be as good as he says. But just last week, I happen to catch Pat on one of those Sunday TV shows and he was asked about what the US should do in Najaf. Bomb them, was Pat’s answer. Bomb them until they comply. It’s the only choice, he said, because otherwise “we” lose the war.

My first thought was that Pat’s isolationist credentials make his call for violence all the more compelling (just as Cato’s call for overthrowing the Taliban was particularly valuable to the Bush administration). Perhaps that is the role that Pat is supposed to play: so that the regime can always say that even Pat Buchanan favors escalation.

The Best of Jeffrey Tucker