Neocon Kirchick Supports American Coup d’Etat

The existing American political system has two ways to change a president: elections and impeachment. The op-ed by neocon James Kirchick promotes a third way: forceful removal from office or and/or life. He writes “Trump is not only patently unfit to be president, but a danger to America and the world. Voters must stop him before the military has to.”

Kirchick speaks for neocons. He is a fellow at the Foreign Policy Initiative, whose founders are Dan Senor, Robert Kagan, and William Kristol.

Kirchick’s op-ed tells us that neocons, to get what they want, will dispense with the rule of law in favor of rule by the national security establishment. They will dispense with the Constitution and existing political systems in favor of rule by the secret hidden bureaucracies of the deep state. He tells us that what voters may choose doesn’t matter. If they choose Trump, then the military should cancel his ticket.

This op-ed is a window into the neocon philosophy. Neocons clearly do not believe in democracy, even though the mission statement of the Foreign Policy Initiative desires “robust support for America’s democratic allies” and speaks of “The United States–and its democratic allies”. Neocons do not necessarily accept elections and voting outcomes, even though the mission statement speaks of “the human rights of those oppressed by their governments, and U.S. leadership in working to spread political and economic freedom”. What neocons say they want in these instances is totally undermined by their willingness to use power to get what they really want. What is that?

In the libertarian vision, America is a land of freedom and opportunity in which people can develop their unique creative gifts and talents, each finding their own calling. It is a land of peace in which the individual personality is central, but not in opposition to cooperation and togetherness.

America to neocons has an entirely different meaning. To neocons America means a great power, a world leader, an authority, and an exceptional nation. It means a military power that’s been called collectively as “indispensable to international peace, security, and stability…” To neocons, America is a country constantly beset by never-ending threats that require continual military and other engagement and intervention if America is not to succumb. To neocons America is not a secure country, and can never be secure until the entire world is remade.

The neocon philosophy draws elements from fascism (militarism, nationalism), communism (world revolution), and pragmatism (expediency and abandoning principles), even though the mission statement lauds victory over fascism and communism. Neocons elevate nationalism to a position of worldwide ambition and pretensions. The neocons think of America as an abstract universal, building it up into an earthly power that has its own interests but yet has a duty to mankind as policeman of the world, the goals being peace, security and stability. In practice, neocon ideas have brought us war, insecurity and instability. Now the neocons are willing to institute a military coup d’etat in America as a policy measure.

Neocon philosophy contrasts sharply with libertarianism, which does not extol America as an abstract universal or see it as a military savior of the world. The universal concept reduces people to citizens, numbers, taxpayers, parts of a larger machine. By contrast, the idea of freedom in America goes to particulars, individual persons, each with his or her own personality and calling. Votes and voting results can be disregarded by neocons because the overall machine (America as an abstract universal) is what matters to them. They will remove or assassinate an elected president through a coup d’etat because that person as a person doesn’t matter either as against the universal that is America.

Who knows what furthers this neocon America? Only the neocons. The military is their favored tool at present, but they will abandon the military and find other tools if they judge that the military isn’t doing what they want. Their abandonment of the Republicans and Trump for the Democrats and Clinton is an example of such shifting.

This blog was stimulated by Jacob G. Hornberger’s blog titled “A Coup Against Trump?”

Share

4:02 pm on August 20, 2016