Neo-Conservative Shell Games

I thought the Republicans had dropped this particular canard; but they haven't. Neo-Conservative means Jew. When Liberals rail against Neo-Conservatives, it's not because Neo-Conservatives have led us into one botched war (Iraq) and are eager to involve us in another (Iran/Syria), it's because we're anti-Semitic.

Linda Chavez's latest article criticizes Mel Gibson's latest performance (as an anti-Semitic drunk), but then bridges the gap from Hollywood to Washington D.C.

Gibson's claim that Jews have caused all the world's wars is only a less subtle and more grandiose version of the current mantra that "neoconservatives" have led us into war in Iraq. Make no mistake, most critics on both the left and right who inveigh against "neoconservatives" really mean "the Jews" or "Jewish influence" has caused this war. Old-fashioned anti-Semitism used to blame "Jewish bankers" for controlling the world, now, apparently, it's Jewish intellectuals who pull the strings. The Rothschilds have been replaced as villains by Paul Wolfowitz, Richard Perle, William Kristol and Charles Krauthammer.

Part of me can't believe I'm reading this; Neo Conservatives planned to invade Iraq and many of them were given positions in the Bush Administrations. They crafted the intellectual rational for why we should invade Iraq. And yet somehow it's as insane and bigoted to blame them for this as it is to blame "jewish bankers?" I mean they left a pretty large paper trail.

The heart of the matter is why are the Neo-Conservatives doing this.

Many liberals, who recognize anti-Semitism when Mel Gibson is spewing it, however, are less willing to tackle the new anti-Semitism that blames Jews for involving the United States in the current war in Iraq. These modern conspiracy theorists are simply reworking ancient stereotypes to fit a new mold. In this bigoted view, Jews are only interested in themselves, have no loyalty to the nation of their birth or citizenship, and are willing to sacrifice others' lives to advance an agenda that benefits their co-religionists. You can hear these sentiments, barely veiled, when Pat Buchanan or Air America start spinning stories about the neoconservatives and their supposedly wild ambitions.

Well I'm sure Pat Buchanan does provide plenty of evidence of Anti-Semitism; I'm just not sure he proves liberal Anti-Semitism.

Of course, the current situation does lend a little more weight to this argument, so I'm not surprised to see them trotting it out again. But a ridiculous argument is a ridiculous argument no matter when it happens to be expressed.