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These people don't seem to exist in the real world, although they fancy themselves as realists in the mode of Henry Kissinger. The damage Kissinger did is still with us, and with people like Robert and Fred Kagan and the rest of the foreign policy community running things, it's not likely we'll ever get started repairing the damage.
The problem is that they listen only to each other. It's incestuous. A closed loop. They emerge from their high castle to patiently educate us morons about the true nature of human civilization and the resulting absolute requirement that we be hard-nosed, pre-emptive, and aggressive. "We know what's best for the world," they say. "We have Ph.D.s! So just sit back and let us handle this mess."
Robert is one of the founders of Project for the New American Century. Just that name alone should give one pause: So now we're taking ownership of centuries? He deigned to share his vision of America's role in the world recently in the L.A. Times. It's chilling.
The singular personal aspect about the Kagans and their ilk is that they cannot be reached with any other vision of reality and geopolitics. They're impervious. There is something seriously wrong - psychologically - with people who cannot seriously consider alternatives to their points of view.
But the worst thing is not their self-imposed isolation, founded on an unwarranted sense of superiority. No. The worst thing is that they have power. Power in the hands of such people is a fearsome thing, and always has catastrophic consequences.
