The problem with neoconservative foreign policy is not that it is conservative and realistic but rather that it is liberal. The descriptions of problems here presented are real enough but the policies advocated in response are simply unrealistic precisely because they are imbued with a kind of moralizing and crusading liberalism that is not going to solve America's foreign policy problems but rather exacerbate them. Doubtless American intervention is required in many areas (and not in the form of social work as advocated by the UN and the Left), but proclaiming complex problems to be simple forces of good and evil that can be solved with the revolutionary and forceful imposition of democracy is classic Wilsonian liberal nonsense. It is simply a liberal-minded fantasy that you can import democracy and human rights to places that do not have the historical and institutional background to support it. Granted a realisitic foreign policy that encourages intervention without the aid of some rhetorical flourishes of high-minded but naive and impractical principles will fail to be legitimized in the mind of the demos; however, to go so far as to actually implement these principles as policy is not only doomed to failure but will most certainly result in "blowback" against American interests. Much more prudence and the reassertion of realistic geopolitical strategies wrapped in the rhetoric of Wilsonian fantasy worlds is needed in place of the actual implementation of crusading liberal ideologies when it comes to foreign policy. We should expect much more especially from William Kristol, being the student of the great Machiavellian scholar Harvey Mansfield.

This is undoubtedly one of the most important books on US foreign policy published in recent years and should be read by anyone who cares about the future of the United States and the rest of the world. This is the manifesto of "conservative internationalism" whose proponents, including many of the books authors, now infest the Bush administration and are his loudest ventriloquists. Here, then, is the current administration's strategic vision.

The basic argument is that the US needs to exercise world domination, here spun as "benevolent global hegemony" and that there are a number of external obstacles which stand in the way and must be dealt with. These are Iraq, Iran, North Korea, China, the Middle East peace process and an independent Europe. In its clear and reasoned enunciation of strategy and future plans, it both rivals and surpasses the later chapters of Mein Kampf. Here is the game plan which must be read to understand where these people intend to take the world next.

If we ignore the desirability of this mission, its feasibility (the cost in money, lives and freedom) certainly merits discussion, but here the book is thin, relying on fairy story assumptions (budget surpluses!!!) and wishful thinking.

The one distasteful aspect of the book is the attempt to wrap the entire endeavour in the cloak of "American morality", understood as protecting citizen's liberties. This is breathtaking stuff from accomplices in the most extensive attempt to incinerate the Constitution in recent history.

Stripped of its ideological air cover and romantic fantasies, this is still an important, timely and lively document since this is the future course of foreign policy which the Bush administration plans to pursue.

Whether you agree with the American foreign and defense policy of the Bush administration or not, this book is essential reading for those interested in the topic. It's a series of essays on different foreign and defense policy issues written by people who are highly influential in the Bush administration, including Richard Perle, Elliot Abrams and Paul Wolfowitz.

The central thesis seems to be that the US is (or maybe WAS immediately after the Cold War) at an unprecedented position of influence and power over the world, and should use it to secure the safety of the whole world before those who wish to threaten the free world acquire the means to do so. The book was written at the end of the Clinton administration, but many parts of the book are extremely prophetic including the need to confront the members of the "Axis of Evil" about their efforts to acquire weapons of mass destruction and the palestinian uprising against the stalled peace process which had not yet begun when the book was written. Like I said, even if you're not in agreement with Bush administration policy, you'll learn what some of the influential minds are thinking (and why their right!).