Do Not Listen to These People

The latest manufactured foreign policy crisis is Iran. You've got to give it those neocons, they are very persistent! But please don't listen to them. For a great list of who not to listen to, we need go no further than the thoroughly discredited Project for the New American Century (PNAC) crowd. The signatories of the two letters sent to Presidents Clinton and Bush43 have absolutely no credibility on the actual danger of Iran. In a true meritocracy, the people who signed the letter to President Bush on September 20, 2001 would not be consulted or listened to about any foreign policy issue, especially about nuclear weapons in Muslim counties. (h/t Stephen Walt)

A smaller group signed the 1998 letter to President Clinton which proposed regime change in Iraq. Don't forget that they were successful in this effort as well, as Clinton signed the Iraq Liberation Act that year. Below is a spreadsheet of the esteemed experts to ignore. William Kristol's name is at the top of the rest from 2001 because that is how the actual letter listed the names. Bill is just so extra-special.

Things I learned making this:

• Jeffrey Bergner, who I had never heard of before, was a 1969 graduate of Carleton College, my alma mater. They must have not perfected the liberal brainwashing by then. (joke)
• Francis Fukuyama broke with the neocon crowd soon after the start of the Iraq War and published his criticisms in a NYT Magazine article, "After Neoconservatism," in 2006. Good for you, Francis.
• William Schneider Jr, also new to me, is still the chair of the Defense Science Board!

LINKS: Listen to these people:

• Juan Cole, Informed Comment.
• Marc Lynch, formerly Abu Aardvark, now at ForeignPolicy.com.
• Helena Cobban, Just World News.