David Aaronovitch takes a shot at the wretched New Statesman for their ‘outing’ of him as a neo-con.
Then this magazine called the New Statesman runs a big cover piece, revealing that not only am I a neocon, but – hell – I’m one of the biggest. “Well”, I say, “I figure an outfit like that has got to have done its homework, so maybe they know something I don’t. Perhaps I am a barmy, war-loving, big-business Zionist with a penchant for conspiracies. After all,” I say, “look at my name.”
“Dead giveaway,” agrees Wolfie. “Welcome aboard”.
Aaronovitch is, of course, referring to the frequently heard view that the neo-cons are a Jewish clique. This is becoming a recurring theme in any discussion about the still (to my mind) ill-defined group labelled as neo-conservatives. Of course it emerged most blatantly in the infamous Tam Dalyell ‘cabal’ comments and is sadly heard more from the left than anywhere else.
I suspect Stephen Pollard, who is proud to describe himself as a ‘neo-con’ would laugh at the idea that Aaro, a liberal, ex-Eurocommunist, broadly New Labour type could seriously be considered a convert to neo-conservatism simply because he took a sensible position over Iraq and isn’t afraid to call a terrorist a terrorist. But I would like to know who else was ‘outed’ by the New Statesman?
I am not paying NS a pound to find out – not only because I am tight-fisted but also because I am not financing a publication that is a disgrace to its own history. After all this is a magazine that believes anti-Americanism is profitable so shifted its orientation to tap that market. I’m not going to help their unprincipled profit chasing. But if someone who does could put the list of the other ‘outed Brit neo-cons’ in the comments box or email me I would be very grateful.
