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To Review Part I

Leo Strauss – Only his name was introduced in Part I and he will be covered
here as briefly as possible. For those more interested in this man and his
philosophies; a search of his name on www.amazon.com, will give your 15788
books to learn more about him. Leo Strauss is only important to this writing
because: philosophies of Strauss permeate much of the thought behind the
writings of the PNAC; several of the students & followers of Strauss were the
neo-conservative builders of PNAC; and many of these same people have
been the Key members of the Bush II administration. The most noteworthy
student of Strauss and Strauss' student Allen Bloom is Paul Wolfowitz, the chief
architect of the administration’s post-September 11 global strategy, including
the controversial concept of the pre-emptive war.

It would be impossible to outline, here, all of the teachings of Leo Strauss. I
am certainly no authority and couldn't do it justice.   On the other hand, I have
read enough about Strauss and his thoughts on political governance, to have
an understanding of his theories and views of how society should be
structured and manipulated to work effectively.

Strauss believed in a natural division within society: There are leaders (the
philosophers) and then there are the people. "Some are fit to lead, and others
to be led", "those who are fit to rule are those who realize there is no morality
and that there is only one natural right, the right of the superior to rule over
the inferior”   References to leaders here are not those elected by the people.
Leaders are those natural leaders, the philosophers.   Strauss believed the
philosophers will often have to deceive the citizenry and its leaders to protect
the country. A noted critic of Strauss and author, Shadia Drury, has stated,
"Perpetual deception of the citizens by those in power is critical [in Strauss'
view] because they need to be led, and they need strong rulers to tell them
what's good for them”.    Note- See explanation- Why was Drury, a critic used to
explain Strauss.

Various other “truths” proposed by Strauss and espoused by his followers are
outlined below. The separation of church and state was a huge mistake made
by the founders of the US Republic. Religion is the method by which leaders
can manipulate the people. “Religion is the glue that holds society together.”
and “You want a crowd that you can manipulate like putty," said Drury . Strauss’
concern for religion had nothing to do with promoting morality; it is instead the
ultimate device to move the masses because it is bolstered by the divine.
Secularism in society is dangerous. Secular societies foster free thinking,
individualism and liberalism. These traits have no place in the hands of the
people because they may give rise to dissent and loss of control.

Strauss contended people only unite against something, an external force.
For leaders to lead a united people, they must lead them against an enemy.
During wartime, patriotism flourishes, dissent is subdued, and leaders gain in
power. Opposition to our policies from outside is not important; protecting
ourselves is all important and that will necessarily antagonize others. A
constant state of war will maintain stability internally and will guarantee
continued power for the leadership. Strauss suggests, if there is no external
threat, manufacture one.

For those of you who have read Orwell’s 1984, much of this might sound
familiar. How greatly did the teachings of Strauss have on the people running
our government today? I guess I will leave that up to you to decide. Please do
look back to the beginning of the Bush administration and where we are today.
Look at how quickly we got into war. What groups were enlisted and what were
the types of issues that divided the country at election time? What liberties
were the first to fall with the Patriot Act? Is fear of the enemy what holds this
country together today? Are we united against an enemy? How many former
allies have we alienated? How did John Bolton become the UN ambassador?
Was it the will of the Democracy? I leave you to answer those questions

While you are doing that, I will list the followers and students of Strauss and
PNAC members that are prominent in advising our government today:
Irving Kristol: godfather of American Neo-Conservatism. His son William
Kristol: Co-founder of PNAC, founder of Weekly Review, Chief of Staff and
speech writer for Dan Quayle, contributing writer and consultant for George W.
Bush’s 2nd inaugural address. Paul Wolfowitz: US Deputy Secretary of Defense
( Bush II,1st Term), many other jobs under Reagan, & Bush I, currently
President of World Bank. Founding member PNAC, Architect of post 911
strategy in Iraq. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld: founding member
PNAC. Vice President Dick Cheney: founding member PNAC. Governor Jeb
Bush: founding member PNAC. Richard Perle: Assistant Secretary of Defense
(Reagan), Chairman - Defense Policy Advisory Committee (Bush II) member
PNAC. Dan Quayle: Vice President under Bush I, founding member PNAC. John
Bolton: Recess appointee - Ambassador to UN, Previously served as
Undersecretary for Arms Control, member of PNAC. Elliot Abrams; Department
of State, founding member PNAC. Richard Armitage Deputy Secretary of State,
member PNAC. Judge Robert Bork; Student of Strauss. Supreme Court Justice
Clarence Thomas; Student of Strauss. Ex Attorney General John Ashcroft:
Student of Strauss, Father of Patriot Act. I Lewis Libby: Chief of Staff to Vice
President Cheney, founding member PNAC. Peter Rodman: Assistant Secretary
of Defense International Security, member PNAC. Other members of PNAC
Gary Bauer, former presidential candidate, president of American Values.
William J. Bennett: former Secretary of Education and Drug Czar, founding
member of PNAC, co-founder of Empower America Ellen Bork: deputy director
of PNAC. R. James Woolsey: former director of the CIA.    Eliot A. Cohen:
professor of strategic studies at Johns Hopkins University. Thomas Donnelly:
director of communications, Lockheed Martin. Steve Forbes: founding
member PNAC multi-billionaire publisher of Forbes Magazine, former
presidential candidate. Aaron Friedberg: director of the Center of
International Studies.   Frank Gaffney: columnist, founder of Center for Security
Policy. Reuel Marc Gerecht: director of the Middle East Initiative. Fred Ikle:
Center for Strategic and International Studies. Donald Kagan: founding
member PNAC, Yale University professor, conservative columnist with various
State Department ties. Jeane Kirkpatrick: former U.S. Ambassador. Charles
Krauthammer: Columnist. Norman Podhoretz: Hudson Institute. Beton Michael
Kane: Professor of National Security and Military Affairs, Harvard University.
Henry Rowen: former president of Rand Corporation. Vin Weber: former
congressman, lobbyist, vice-chairman of Empower America, founding member
of PNAC. George Weigel: political commentator. And many many more.