The term "disfattista" ("defeatist") is somewhat dated in Italian, bringing to mind, as it does, those Italians whom Mussolini accused of not supporting fascism and the fascist war effort. It has been given a new lease on life in English, however, by the venerable neocon magazine National Review, which has accused paleocon opponents of the invasion of Iraq of "espous[ing] a potentially self-fulfilling defeatism." According to NR columnist David Frum, the paleocons "are thinking about defeat, and wishing for it, and they will take pleasure in it if it should happen." It is strange to find these echoes of Mussolinian … Continue reading Defeatists and Disfattisti