Project for the New American Century
Project For New American Century is a neoconservative think tank funded by William Kristol and Richard Perle. Its current chairman is William Kristol.
Prominent politicians, journalists and scholars associated with the Project For New American Century include Charles Krauthammer, Paul Wolfowitz, Lewis Libby, Jeb Bush, Richard Perle, Dick Cheney, William J. Bennett, Norman Podhoretz, Dan Quayle, Abram Shulsky, Frank Gaffney, Zalmay Khalilzad, R. James Woolsey, Jr., Rudy Boschwitz, Eliot A. Cohen, Steve Forbes, Michael Ledeen, Dov Zakheim, Richard Armitage, Robert Zoellick, Francis Fukuyama, Paula Dobriansky and Aaron Friedberg.
PNAC's stated goal is global American leadership. There is wide opposition to this goal. Emphasis in PNAC is on military solutions; diplomacy is not considered to be an effective means to end conflict.
"Further, the process of transformation, even if it brings revolutionary change, is likely to be a long one, absent some catastrophic and catalyzing event––like a new Pearl Harbor"
The above statement is taken from Section V of Rebuilding America's Defenses, which is a major part of PNAC's central theory. It was originally presented in 1997.
Some would contend that George W. Bush's subscription to this doctrine was the reason for his late response to the 9/11 attacks: that he was waiting for the most damage to be done.
References
- Bush's Summer Reading List Hints at Iraq, By Dana Milbank, Washington Post, August 20, 2002; Page A11.