Critique of a hyper-paranoid Neo-Conspiracy theorist

By Adam Roufberg

In early March of this chilling year, Michael Ledeen published an article entitled “A Theory” for the National Review Online, the conservative journal for which he is a contributing editor. Ledeen hypothesizes the reason France and Germany would not join the ‘coalition of the willing’ in the (illegal) invasion of Iraq was because the Franco-German consortium recognized an effective way to curb the cancer-like growth of the American Empire is by a striking “a deal with radical Islam and with radical Arabs”. He then provides some vague examples to support his theory. Ledeen concludes by admitting he believes this theory and, likely unwittingly, also confirms the truth about America’s goals for global hegemony. Bearing in mind the crowd he is preaching to, there is much cause for concern. Here’s why:

In addition to his position as a contributing editor for the National Review Online, he is a Resident Scholar in the Freedom Chair at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), and he also serves on the Board of Advisors for the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs (JINSA). He has an impressive education, an extensive list of publications, and is considered a leading scholar in his field. This worries me. It appears that his ‘field’ is one which incites violence and promotes regime change in the name of freedom and democracy wherever it suits the needs of American and Israeli global interests.

Sound familiar?

It might well, since the AEI and JINSA are two of the leading right-wing think tanks which comprise the Project for the New American Century (PNAC). Some of the leading members of the PNAC are (guess who): Vice President Dick Cheney (remember, the guy who had all those maps of Iraq’s oil fields which were recently released under FOIA), Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld (the very same one who can’t tell a guerilla war when he sees one), Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz (the leading Straussian Neo-Con Hawk who pushed for war with all his might), Secretary of State Colin Powel (the ever-so-disappointing Mr. Powell), Condi Rice (Miss Chevron), Elliot Abrams (Mr. Iran-Contra scandal), et al. You can see the connection between Mr. Ledeen and the Bush Administration. So when Michael Ledeen is lecturing at JINSA’s Policy Forum, you can guess who the audience is: the Bush policy makers.

Are you concerned?

Now that I have painted the tip of Iceberg Ledeen for you, let’s get into his ‘theory’.

Ledeen surmises that Germany’s Schroeder and France’s Chirac, realizing the fall of the Soviet Union has left the American hyperpower in military and economic control of the world (essentially reducing the European Union “to a combination theme park and free-trade zone”), could only preempt the American vision for global hegemony by cultural and political means. He says the Franco-German preemptive strike against America would be “based on using Arab and Islamic extremism and terrorism as the weapon of choice, and the United Nations as the straitjacket for blocking a decisive response from the United States.”

Ledeen offers some examples of Franco-German support for Islamic and Arab terrorist organizations to corroborate his theory. Let’s take a look at some of his examples:

“Chancellor Shroeder gained reelection by warning of American warmongering, even though, as usual, America had been attacked first.”

Whereas America had indeed been attacked on Sept 11, before it attacked Iraq, not one piece of evidence has yet emerged linking Iraq, or other members of the Axis of Evil, with these terrorist attacks. And what, I wonder, does Mr. Ledeen mean by the phrase ‘as usual’?

He continues:

“And both Schroeder and Chirac went to great lengths to support Islamic institutions in their countries, even when — as in the French case — it was in open violation of the national constitution. French law stipulates a total separation of church and state, yet the French Government openly funds Islamic "study" centers, mosques, and welfare organizations. A couple of months ago, Chirac approved the creation of an Islamic political body, a mini-parliament, that would provide Muslims living in France with official stature and enhanced political clout.”

Whereas this may or may not be true (I am not versed in French Law), we have parallel issues in the US regarding separation of church and state (“In God We Trust,” One Nation Under God”, educational vouchers for parochial schools) and have also set up legislation to grant certain privileges to religious and ethnic minorities (remember Affirmative Action, recently voted on by our Supreme Court- ding!?)

His rant continues:

“And both countries have permitted the Saudis to build thousands of radical Wahhabi mosques and schools, where the hatred of the infidels is instilled in generation after generation of young Sunnis.”

Whereas both countries may or may not actually be ‘promoting’ radical Islam within their own borders, the building of religious and educational institutions, in and of itself, is not plausible evidence to uphold Ledeen’s conjecture. In addition, it is a well established fact that the Bush Administration curbed FBI investigations into the Bin Laden family’s (save Osama) funding of terrorist activities in America, and abroad. (Greg Palast discusses this in “The Best Democracy Money Can Buy”). My point here is simply that the US does not have clean hands, which is not to imply Franco-German guilt.

While I will skip his last two examples supporting his hyperparanoid Neo-Conspiracy theory, I will point out he admits he believes his theory. In so doing, he also admits that he and “the smartest people [he] know[s]” do have plans to take over the world.

He says of Chirac:

“He's fighting to end the feared American domination before it takes stable shape. If this is correct, we will have to pursue the war against terror far beyond the boundaries of the Middle East, into the heart of Western Europe. And there, as in the Middle East, our greatest weapons are political: the demonstrated desire for freedom of the peoples of the countries that oppose us.”

Not only is Ledeen putting France and Germany in the category of “Supporters of Terrorism” effectively declaring war on them, he ignores the fact that our greatest weapons, as demonstrated, are not political. The weapons Mr. Ledeen speaks of come in the form of depleted uranium munitions, bunker busters, daisy cutters, and a slew of other weapons of mass destruction.

When will these paranoid neo-conspiracy theorists realize that war begets war and their kind incite only hatred and violence?

I believe the time when the people of this potentially great nation will wake up to see who is actually running it, and what they have in store for us, is rapidly approaching.

To abuse a phrase that Mr. Ledeen has coined, and with which he ends many of his rants calling for regime change in Iran and Syria: I hope people will wake up “Faster, please. Much faster.”

Impeach Bush: The Four Reasons