The term liberal hawk refers to a politically liberal person (generally, in the American sense of the term) who supports a hawkish, interventionist foreign policy.

Overview

Past U.S. presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman, John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson have been described as liberal hawks for their roles in bringing about America's status as the world's premier military power. The Clinton Doctrine can also be considered as consistent with this vision. Today the term is most frequently used to describe liberals and leftists who supported or still support the decision to invade Iraq in 2003, which was authorized by the United States Congress and ordered by president George W. Bush. The war has stirred heated controversy among all political sides of the debate. The American left was divided over the issue of whether going to war in Iraq was the right decision, as some liberals felt that they should support the war, in accordance with their philosophy of liberal internationalism, which had caused them to support military intervention earlier.[1]

One document often cited as promoting a liberal hawkish point of view is Progressive Internationalism: A Democratic National Security Strategy, published by the Progressive Policy Institute in October 2003.[2] Another document related to the philosophy is a letter to President Bush sent by Social Democrats USA in February 2003, which urged the military overthrow of Saddam Hussein's regime.[3]

In January 2004, Paul Berman, Thomas Friedman, Christopher Hitchens, George Packer, Kenneth Pollack, Jacob Weisberg, Fareed Zakaria, and Fred Kaplan participated in a five-day online forum, Liberal Hawks Reconsider the Iraq War, in which they discussed whether they had been correct in advocating military action against Saddam Hussein's regime. Kaplan by that point had renounced his prior support, but the general consensus among the participants was that, despite the absence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, the war had still been justified on humanitarian grounds.

In his book The Good Fight, published in 2006, Peter Beinart renounced his prior support for the Iraq War: "I was too quick to give up on containment, too quick to think time was on Saddam's side."

Opposition to the Sunshine Policy

The Sunshine Policy is the dovish foreign policy with North Korea of South Korean liberals, and Donald Trump or Trumpists have also expressed support,[4] but mainstream American liberals, dubbed the 'Washington establishment', de facto oppose the policy and support hawkish foreign policy toward North Korea,[5] creating a conflict with South Korean liberals.[6]

Despite being a liberal, U.S. President Barack Obama opposed the Sunshine Policy and preferred a hawkish foreign policy toward North Korea called "Strategic Patience Policy".[7]

U.S. liberals' hostile diplomatic approach to North Korea has made South Korea liberals prefer Donald Trump diplomatically to South Korean conservatives. In the 2020 United States presidential election, Hong Joon-pyo, a right-wing populist politician known as a Korean Trumpist,[8] supported Joe Biden.[9] The current president of South Korea Yoon Suk-yeol, dubbed the "K-Trump" in South Korean media, defended Joe Biden's policy toward North Korea, opposing the Sunshine Policy of Donald Trump and South Korean liberals. In contrast, South Korean liberal Moon Chung-in and Kim Ou-joon supported Donald Trump and Trumpists' Sunshine Policy.[6][10]

Notable people associated

Harry S. Truman signing a proclamation declaring a national emergency that initiates U.S. involvement in the Korean War

The list includes people who have been described as liberal hawks.

Politicians

Government officials

Other

See also

References

  1. ^ "The Liberal Quandary Over Iraq". The New York Times Magazine. December 8, 2002.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Liberal Hawk Down". The Nation. October 7, 2004.
  3. ^ Letter to President Bush sent by Social Democrats USA Archived May 9, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ ""트럼프, 미국판 '햇볕정책' 보여줘...4차회담은 8~9월"" [Donald Trump supports the American version 'Sunshine policy'. The fourth round of talks will take place in August or September.]. 노컷뉴스. July 1, 2019. Archived from the original on 2023-03-21. Retrieved 2023-03-21.
  5. ^ "Bruce Cumings hopes Trump's lack of ties to Washington establishment offers solution for Korean Peninsula". The Hankyoreh. June 17, 2018. Retrieved 2023-04-23.
  6. ^ a b "문정인 "바이든이 미 대통령 되면 북한 문제 풀기 어려워"" [Moon Chung-in said, "If Biden [not Trump] becomes the U.S. president, it will be difficult to solve the North Korean problem".]. 동아일보. July 3, 2020. Retrieved 2023-03-21.
  7. ^ Park Byoung-chul, Joo In-suck ed. (2016). The North Korean Policy of the Obama Administration and Korea-America Relationship: Change and Perspective. Korea Institute of Science and Technology Information.
  8. ^ "South Korean opposition leader: Nukes are the only way to guarantee peace". CNN. October 18, 2017. Retrieved 2023-03-21. Nicknamed "Hong Trump," he has been compared to the US President in the past for his outspoken, sometimes offensive campaigning style. ... Like Trump, Hong attracted criticism during the campaign over his attitudes towards women, after he was quoted as saying washing dishes was women's work. Controversy also erupted over an anecdote in Hong's autobiography in which he described helping a friend drug a girl he was on a date with.
  9. ^ "홍준표 "위장평화쇼 트럼프 시대 저물어…문재인 정권 심판받을 차례"" [Hong Joon-pyo said, "The era of Trump based on the camouflage peace show is over. Therefore, the Moon Jae-in regime [who was diplomatically friendly to Trump when Trump supported pro-North Korea foreign policy] will be judged".]. 머니투데이. November 6, 2020. Retrieved 2023-03-21.
  10. ^ "김어준 "바이든 찍으면 미북 정상회담 못 봐" 황당방송" [Kim Ou-joon said, "If [Americans] vote Biden, [Korean] can't see the North Korea–United States summit", it is absurd remark broadcasting.]. 조선일보. August 8, 2020. Retrieved 2023-03-21.
  11. ^ "Berman – A Hawk 20 Years in the Making". Los Angeles Times. March 7, 2003.
  12. ^ "Joe Biden championed the Iraq war. Will that come back to haunt him now?". The Guardian. February 17, 2020.
  13. ^ "Liberal Hawks, an Endangered Species". The Weekly Standard. May 28, 2007.
  14. ^ "Is Tony Blair a war criminal?". The Telegraph. December 4, 2009.
  15. ^ "The Nation; Blair, the Hawk, Finds Himself With Some Unlikely Friends". The New York Times. February 23, 2003.
  16. ^ "Ben Cardin Is a Hawk. Will Maryland Voters Punish Him for It?". The Nation. May 10, 2018.
  17. ^ "How Hillary Clinton Became a Hawk". The New York Times. April 24, 2016.
  18. ^ "Hillary the Hawk: A History". ForeignPolicy.com. July 27, 2016.
  19. ^ "Why is Hillary Clinton still a hawk?". Chicago Tribune. July 1, 2016.
  20. ^ "Yes, Hillary Clinton Is a Hawk". The National Interest. February 6, 2014.
  21. ^ "Hillary the Hawk". The Nation. February 21, 2007.
  22. ^ "Joe Donnelly talks like a Republican in his newest ad". Washington Examiner. October 16, 2018.
  23. ^ "The Loneliest Democrat in Trump Country". Politico Magazine. December 5, 2017.
  24. ^ Chavez, Aida. "Hawkish Democrat Rep. Eliot Engel Is Facing Two Primary Challengers". The Intercept. Retrieved 2024-02-21.
  25. ^ Heilbrunn, Jacob (2020). "President Gore's Foreign Policy". World Policy Journal. 17 (2): 49. Retrieved 2024-02-21.
  26. ^ Ahlman, Austin. "Hawkish Democrats Ramp Up Campaign Against Possible New Iran Deal". The Intercept. The Intercept. Retrieved 2024-02-21.
  27. ^ "Hire Harman for Chair of Intelligence? No, Nancy, No". HuffPost. November 22, 2006.
  28. ^ "Harman's Harm?". The New Republic. April 20, 2009.
  29. ^ "Let the mighty liberal hawks soar". Los Angeles Times. August 14, 2007.
  30. ^ "The Nation: The Democrats' Liberal Hawk on Capitol Hill". Time. March 22, 1971.
  31. ^ "Return of the liberal hawks". Los Angeles Times. May 28, 2006.
  32. ^ "Joe Lieberman, Religion, and Iraq". Smart Politics. February 20, 2007.
  33. ^ "A Hawk for All Seasons". The American Prospect. August 14, 2006.
  34. ^ "Who Would Joe Lieberman Vote for in 2020? Not Who You'd Think". Tablet Magazine. May 3, 2018.
  35. ^ "Palestine papers: Tzipi Livni". The Guardian. January 23, 2011.
  36. ^ "The Democrats' Unlikely Hawk". The American Conservative. December 2, 2013.
  37. ^ "Democrat hawk says he's sticking by Iran deal after reclaiming top panel spot". Al-Monitor. February 9, 2018.
  38. ^ Crowley, Michael. "The Stuff Sam Nunn's Nightmares Are Made of". The New York Times. NY Times. Retrieved 2024-02-21.
  39. ^ Quigley, Bernie. "Draft Sam Nunn. There's Still Time". The Hill. The Hill. Retrieved 2024-02-21.
  40. ^ Sack, Kevin. "Nunn, Model Southern Democrat, To Retire From Senate Next Year". The New York Times. NY Times. Retrieved 2024-02-21.
  41. ^ "Kyrsten Sinema's anti-war activist past under scrutiny as she runs for Senate". CNN Politics. October 12, 2018.
  42. ^ "The Lady Is a Hawk". Newsweek. December 15, 1996.
  43. ^ "The last hawk: Zbigniew Brzezinski (1928-2017)". Open Democracy. June 1, 2017.
  44. ^ "Once a Hawk, Brzezinski Sees Hope for U.S.-Russia Relations". Politico Magazine. November 27, 2015.
  45. ^ "Zbigniew Brzezinski, National Security Adviser to Jimmy Carter, Dies at 89". The New York Times. May 26, 2017.
  46. ^ "On Zbigniew Brzezinski: Geopolitical Mastermind, Realist Practitioner". Foreign Policy Journal. June 5, 2017.
  47. ^ Chait, Jonathan (March 17, 2010). "The Yoke's On You, Krauthammer". The New Republic.
  48. ^ "Hitchens takes a beating". Salon. August 27, 2005.

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