Last November, Weekly Standard super hawk Bill Kristol hinted that he would be starting up a new “think-tank” modeled after the neoconservative Project for a New American Century (PNAC). PNAC provided much of the ideological framework for the invasion of Iraq and many of its members and sympathizers lobbied heavily for it. Today, Kristol is officially launching PNAC 2.0 — or as it is now called, “The Foreign Policy Initiative” (started with fellow neocons Robert Kagan and Dan Senor) with an event in Washington D.C. on the future of the Afghanistan war. The Wonk Room’s Matt Duss recently observed of FPI:
What do you do if your previous organization — and the ideology behind it — has become inextricably bound in the public’s imagination to one of the worst foreign policy blunders in American history? Obviously, shut it down, and start a new organization with a new name.
However, Michael Goldfarb — Project for a New American Century alum, former McCain campaign spokesman and current Weekly Standard editor — sees it differently. Writing on Twitter yesterday, Goldfard claimed: “PNAC=Mission Accomplished; New mission begins tomorrow morning with the launch of FPI.”
Update:
Yesterday, Goldfarb got slapped down by Gen. David Petraeus. Goldfarb had “reported” on the Weekly Standard blog that Petraeus was planning a 2010 visit to Iowa, fueling speculation he might run for president. Petraeus said yesterday, “That was a blog. He admitted that was made up.” Making things up is what Goldfarb does best. Watch it: