Liberal hawk

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 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 invasion was controversial among all political sides. In December 2002, American liberals were conflicted over whether or not going to war in Iraq was the correct decision; some felt that they should support the war, in accordance with their philosophy of liberal internationalism, i.e. support of military intervention.{{cite web |url=http://www2.kenyon.edu/Depts/Religion/Fac/Adler/Politics/Liberal-quandary.htm|title=The Liberal Quandary Over Iraq|date=December 8, 2002|work=The New York Times Magazine}}

One document 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. Another document related to the stance is a letter to President Bush sent by Social Democrats USA in February 2003, which urged the military overthrow of Saddam Hussein's regime.[http://www.socialdemocrats.org/IraqLetter3.html Letter to President Bush] sent by Social Democrats USA {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080509134106/http://www.socialdemocrats.org/IraqLetter3.html |date=May 9, 2008 }}

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 for 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.

Political scientists argue that liberals tend to be hawkish to counter criticism and accusations by conservatives of being "soft" and having a tendency of appeasing foreign adversaries. Others argue that they are driven by Wilsonian idealism to reshape the world in their image.

The Sunshine Policy is the dovish foreign policy with North Korea of South Korean liberals, in which President Donald Trump has also expressed support,{{cite web |title="트럼프, 미국판 '햇볕정책' 보여줘...4차회담은 8~9월" |trans-title=Donald Trump supports the American version 'Sunshine policy'. The fourth round of talks will take place in August or September. |url=https://www.nocutnews.co.kr/news/5175141 |publisher=노컷뉴스 |date=1 July 2019 |access-date=21 March 2023 |archive-date=March 21, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230321085227/https://www.nocutnews.co.kr/news/5175141 |url-status=live }} but the Washington establishment consisting of liberals and conservatives alike oppose their policy and support a more hawkish stance toward North Korea,{{cite web |title=Bruce Cumings hopes Trump's lack of ties to Washington establishment offers solution for Korean Peninsula |url=https://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_northkorea/849401.html |publisher=The Hankyoreh |date=17 June 2018 |access-date=23 April 2023}} creating a conflict with South Korean liberals.{{cite web |title=문정인 "바이든이 미 대통령 되면 북한 문제 풀기 어려워" |trans-title=Moon Chung-in said, "If Biden [not Trump] becomes the U.S. president, it will be difficult to solve the North Korean problem". |url=https://www.donga.com/news/Politics/article/all/20200703/101805174/1 |publisher=동아일보 |date=3 July 2020 |access-date=21 March 2023}}

Despite being a liberal, President Barack Obama opposed the Sunshine Policy and preferred a more hawkish foreign policy of "strategic patience".Park Byoung-chul, Joo In-suck ed. (2016). [https://www.kci.go.kr/kciportal/ci/sereArticleSearch/ciSereArtiView.kci?sereArticleSearchBean.artiId=ART001516336 The North Korean Policy of the Obama Administration and Korea-America Relationship: Change and Perspective]. Korea Institute of Science and Technology Information.

The hostile diplomatic approach towards North Korea has made South Korea liberals prefer Donald Trump diplomatically, who is more transactional in nature in his dealings with North Korea. However, South Korean conservatives, who are more pro-American support the liberal hawks approach. In the 2020 United States presidential election, Hong Joon-pyo, known as a "Korean Trumpist",{{Cite web|url=https://edition.cnn.com/2017/10/18/asia/south-korea-trump-nukes/index.html |title=South Korean opposition leader: Nukes are the only way to guarantee peace |quote=Nicknamed “Hong Trump,” he has been compared to the US President in the past for his outspoken, sometimes offensive campaigning style |work=CNN |date=18 October 2017 |access-date=21 March 2023}} supported Joe Biden.{{cite web |title=홍준표 "위장평화쇼 트럼프 시대 저물어…문재인 정권 심판받을 차례" |trans-title=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". |url=https://news.mt.co.kr/mtview.php?no=2020110608250058060 |publisher=머니투데이 |date=6 November 2020 |access-date=21 March 2023}} Former president of South Korea, Yoon Suk-yeol, dubbed the "K-Trump" in South Korean media, defended President Joe Biden's policy toward North Korea and opposing the new Sunshine Policy approach of Donald Trump and South Korean liberals. In contrast, South Korean liberals Moon Chung-in and Kim Ou-joon supported Donald Trump's Sunshine Policy.{{cite web |title=김어준 "바이든 찍으면 미북 정상회담 못 봐" 황당방송 |trans-title=Kim Ou-joon said, "If [Americans] vote Biden, [Korean] can't see the North Korea–United States summit", it is absurd remark broadcasting. |url=https://www.donga.com/news/Politics/article/all/20200703/101805174/1 |publisher=조선일보 |date=8 August 2020 |access-date=21 March 2023}}

File:Truman initiating Korean involvement.jpg 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.

• Howard Berman – former U.S. Representative from California{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2003-mar-07-me-lopez7-story.html|title=Berman – A Hawk 20 Years in the Making|date=March 7, 2003|work=Los Angeles Times}}
• Joe Biden - former U.S. Senator from Delaware (1973-2009), former U.S. Vice President (2009-2017), former U.S. President (2021-2025){{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/feb/17/joe-biden-role-iraq-war|title=Joe Biden championed the Iraq war. Will that come back to haunt him now?|date=Feb 17, 2020|work=The Guardian}}
• Tony Blair – former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom{{cite web |url=https://www.weeklystandard.com/matthew-continetti/liberal-hawks-br-an-endangered-species |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181205171944/https://www.weeklystandard.com/matthew-continetti/liberal-hawks-br-an-endangered-species |url-status=dead |archive-date=December 5, 2018 |title=Liberal Hawks, an Endangered Species|date=May 28, 2007 |work=The Weekly Standard}}{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/23/weekinreview/the-nation-blair-the-hawk-finds-himself-with-some-unlikely-friends.html |title=The Nation; Blair, the Hawk, Finds Himself With Some Unlikely Friends |date=February 23, 2003|work=The New York Times}}
• Ben Cardin – U.S. Senator from Maryland, former U.S. Representative from Maryland{{cite web|url=https://www.thenation.com/article/ben-cardin-is-a-hawk-will-maryland-voters-punish-him-for-it/|title=Ben Cardin Is a Hawk. Will Maryland Voters Punish Him for It?|date=May 10, 2018|work=The Nation|access-date=2019-06-15 |archive-date=2018-06-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180614193716/https://www.thenation.com/article/ben-cardin-is-a-hawk-will-maryland-voters-punish-him-for-it/|url-status=dead}}
• Hillary Clinton – former First Lady of the United States, former U.S. Senator from New York, former US Secretary of State, 2008 Democratic presidential candidate, 2016 Democratic presidential nominee{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/24/magazine/how-hillary-clinton-became-a-hawk.html |title=How Hillary Clinton Became a Hawk |date=24 April 2016|work=The New York Times}}{{cite web|url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2016/07/27/hillary-the-hawk-a-history-clinton-2016-military-intervention-libya-iraq-syria/|title=Hillary the Hawk: A History|date=July 27, 2016 |work=ForeignPolicy.com}}{{cite web|url=https://www.thenation.com/article/hillary-hawk/|title=Hillary the Hawk|date=February 21, 2007|work=The Nation|access-date=2019-06-14 |archive-date=2019-06-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190603031920/https://www.thenation.com/article/hillary-hawk/|url-status=dead}}
• Joe Donnelly – former U.S. Representative and senator from Indiana{{cite web |url=https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/12/05/the-loneliest-democrat-in-trump-country-216012 |title=The Loneliest Democrat in Trump Country|date=December 5, 2017|work=Politico Magazine}}
• Eliot Engel – former U.S. Representative from New York{{cite web |last1=Chavez |first1=Aida |title=Hawkish Democrat Rep. Eliot Engel Is Facing Two Primary Challengers |url=https://theintercept.com/2019/06/18/eliot-engel-primary-challenge/ |website=The Intercept |date=June 18, 2019 |access-date=February 21, 2024}}
• Al Gore – former U.S. Senator from Tennessee, former Vice President of the United States, 2000 Democratic presidential nominee{{cite journal |last1=Heilbrunn |first1=Jacob |title=President Gore's Foreign Policy |journal=World Policy Journal |year=2020 |volume=17 |issue=2 |page=49 |jstor=40209691 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/40209691 |access-date=February 21, 2024}}
• Josh Gottheimer – U.S. Representative from New Jersey{{cite web |last1=Ahlman |first1=Austin |title=Hawkish Democrats Ramp Up Campaign Against Possible New Iran Deal |url=https://theintercept.com/2022/08/31/iran-nuclear-deal-democrats-israel-gottheimer/ |website=The Intercept |date=August 31, 2022 |access-date=February 21, 2024}}
• Jane Harman – former U.S. Representative from California{{cite magazine |url=https://newrepublic.com/article/49154/harmans-harm|title=Harman's Harm?|date=April 20, 2009|magazine=The New Republic}}
• Michael Ignatieff – former leader of the Liberal Party of Canada, former professor at Harvard's Carr Center for Human Rights Policy{{cite web |url=https://www.latimes.com/opinion/la-oew-cavanaugh14aug14-story.html|title=Let the mighty liberal hawks soar |date=August 14, 2007|work=Los Angeles Times}}
• Henry "Scoop" Jackson – United States Senator who represented Washington State from 1953 to 1983{{cite magazine |url=http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,904896,00.html |title=The Nation: The Democrats' Liberal Hawk on Capitol Hill |date=March 22, 1971|magazine=Time}}{{cite web |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2006-may-28-op-heilbrunn28-story.html |title=Return of the liberal hawks|date=May 28, 2006 |work=Los Angeles Times}}
• Joe Lieberman – former U.S. Senator from Connecticut, 2000 Democratic vice presidential nominee, 2004 Democratic presidential candidate{{cite web |url=http://editions.lib.umn.edu/smartpolitics/2007/02/20/joe-lieberman-religion-and-ira/ |title=Joe Lieberman, Religion, and Iraq |date=February 20, 2007|work=Smart Politics}}{{cite web |url=https://prospect.org/article/hawk-all-seasons|title=A Hawk for All Seasons|date=August 14, 2006|work=The American Prospect}}{{cite web|url=https://www.tabletmag.com/scroll/261440/who-would-joe-lieberman-vote-for-in-2020-not-who-youd-think|title=Who Would Joe Lieberman Vote for in 2020? Not Who You'd Think|date=May 3, 2018|work=Tablet Magazine}}
• Tzipi Livni – former vice prime minister of Israel, founder of the Hatnuah party, Foreign Minister, Justice Minister and Leader of the Opposition.{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/jan/23/palestine-papers-tzipi-livni-israel|title=Palestine papers: Tzipi Livni

|date=Jan 23, 2011 |work=The Guardian}}

• Tom Malinowski - former U.S. Representative from New Jersey{{cite web|last1=Desiderio|first1=Andrew|title=Meet the Democrats' New Voice on Foreign Policy|url=https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2019/04/21/democrats-foreign-policy-tom-malinowski-226703/|date=April 21, 2019|work=Politico}}
• Bob Menendez – former U.S. Senator from New Jersey, former U.S. Representative from New Jersey{{cite web |url=https://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/the-democrats-unlikely-hawk/|title=The Democrats' Unlikely Hawk |date=December 2, 2013|work=The American Conservative}}{{cite web|url=https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2018/02/democrat-iran-hawk-sticking-by-nuclear-deal-menendez.html|title=Democrat hawk says he's sticking by Iran deal after reclaiming top panel spot|date=February 9, 2018|work=Al-Monitor}}
• Sam Nunn – former U.S. Senator from Georgia (1972-1997){{cite web |last1=Crowley |first1=Michael |title=The Stuff Sam Nunn's Nightmares Are Made of |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/25/magazine/25Nunn.t.html |website=The New York Times |date=February 25, 2007 |access-date=February 21, 2024}}{{cite web |last1=Sack |first1=Kevin |title=Nunn, Model Southern Democrat, To Retire From Senate Next Year |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/10/10/us/nunn-model-southern-democrat-to-retire-from-senate-next-year.html |website=The New York Times |date=October 10, 1995 |access-date=February 21, 2024}}
• Kyrsten Sinema – U.S. Senator from Arizona, former U.S. Representative from Arizona{{cite web |url=https://www.cnn.com/2018/10/12/politics/kfile-kyrsten-sinema-activist-past/index.html|title=Kyrsten Sinema's anti-war activist past under scrutiny as she runs for Senate|date=October 12, 2018|work=CNN Politics}}

• Jake Sullivan – former U.S. National Security Advisor{{Cite magazine|url=https://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2023831_2023829_2025209,00.html|title=Jake Sullivan - 40 Under 40|first=Jay|last=Webber|magazine=Time|date=October 14, 2010 }}{{Cite journal|url=https://www.foreignaffairs.com/united-states/sources-american-power-biden-jake-sullivan|title=The Sources of American Power|first=Jake|last=Sullivan|date=October 24, 2023|journal=Foreign Affairs|volume=102 |issue=6 }}
• Madeleine Albright – former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, former U.S. Secretary of State{{cite web|url=https://www.newsweek.com/lady-hawk-175150|title=The Lady Is a Hawk|date=December 15, 1996|work=Newsweek}}
• Zbigniew Brzezinski – former National Security Advisor, political scientist{{cite web |url=https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/11/brzezinski-sees-hope-for-us-russia-relations-interview-hirsh-213400 |title=Once a Hawk, Brzezinski Sees Hope for U.S.-Russia Relations|date=November 27, 2015|work=Politico Magazine}}{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/26/us/zbigniew-brzezinski-dead-national-security-adviser-to-carter.html|title=Zbigniew Brzezinski, National Security Adviser to Jimmy Carter, Dies at 89|date=May 26, 2017|work=The New York Times}}{{cite web|url=https://www.foreignpolicyjournal.com/2017/06/05/on-zbigniew-brzezinski-geopolitical-mastermind-realist-practitioner/|title=On Zbigniew Brzezinski: Geopolitical Mastermind, Realist Practitioner|date=June 5, 2017 |work=Foreign Policy Journal}}
• Kenneth Pollack – former Clinton administration advisor and senior fellow at The Brookings Institution
• Samantha Power – former United States Ambassador to the United Nations {{Cite journal|url=http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14623528.2010.522053|doi = 10.1080/14623528.2010.522053|title = A solution from hell: The United States and the rise of humanitarian interventionism, 1991–2003|year = 2010|last1 = Wertheim|first1 = Stephen|journal = Journal of Genocide Research|volume = 12|issue = 3–4|pages = 149–172|pmid = 21280380|s2cid = 811668}}
• Dennis Ross{{cite magazine | url=https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/dennis-rosss-iran-plan/ | title=Dennis Ross's Iran Plan | date=April 8, 2009 | last1=Dreyfuss | first1=Bob }}
• Susan Rice{{cite web | url=https://nationalinterest.org/blog/jacob-heilbrunn/the-rise-susan-rice-samantha-power-8553 | title=The Return of the Liberal Hawks: Susan Rice and Samantha Power | date=June 5, 2013 }}{{cite magazine | url=https://newrepublic.com/article/88341/susan-rice-united-nations-libya-intervention | title=The Real Rice | magazine=The New Republic }}
• Michael McFaul – Former United States Ambassador to Russia{{cite news | url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/jan/29/why-do-americas-liberal-hawks-attack-russia-while-giving-israel-a-free-pass | title=Why do America's liberal hawks attack Russia while giving Israel a free pass? | newspaper=The Guardian | date=January 29, 2024 | last1=Beinart | first1=Peter }}{{cite web | url=https://nationalinterest.org/article/hawks-home-to-roost-2993 | title=Hawks Home to Roost | date=February 4, 2009 }}
• Richard Holbrooke – Former United States Ambassador to the United Nations{{cite news|url=http://www.usembassy.it/file2001_01/alia/a1011102.htm|title=Holbrooke: Iraq Will Be a Major UN Issue for Bush Administration|date=January 11, 2001|publisher=United States Diplomatic Mission to Italy|access-date=February 15, 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090125045345/http://www.usembassy.it/file2001_01/alia/a1011102.htm|archive-date=January 25, 2009}}
• James Woolsey – Former United States Under Secretary of the Navy {{cite book |last=Indyk |first=Martin |title=Innocent Abroad: An Intimate Account of American Peace Diplomacy in the Middle East |year=2009 |publisher=Simon and Schuster |isbn=978-1-4165-9429-1 |page= 16 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/innocentabroadin00indy/page/16 }}{{cite book |last=Halberstam |first=David |title=War in a Time of Peace |year=2002 |publisher=Simon and Schuster |isbn=0-7432-1824-8 |pages=191–192}}

• Ronald D. Asmus – scholar at the German Marshall Fund of the United States{{cite web|url=https://www.thenation.com/article/liberal-hawk-down/?page=full|title=Liberal Hawk Down|date=October 7, 2004|work=The Nation|access-date=2019-06-14 |archive-date=2018-08-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180828220626/https://www.thenation.com/article/liberal-hawk-down/?page=full|url-status=dead}}
• Paul Berman – contributing editor to Dissent and The New Republic (described as a 'Philosopher King' of liberal hawks)
• Jonathan Chait – self-described liberal hawk{{cite magazine|url=https://newrepublic.com/article/73799/the-yokes-you-krauthammer|title=The Yoke's On You, Krauthammer|first=Jonathan|last=Chait|date=17 March 2010|magazine=The New Republic}}
• Larry Diamond – senior fellow at the Hoover Institution
• Thomas Friedman{{cite magazine | url=https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2021/05/iraq-war-liberal-media-support-humanitarian-intervention.html | title=Why So Many Liberals Supported Invading Iraq | magazine=Slate | date=May 14, 2021 | last1=Malone | first1=Noreen }}
• Christopher Hitchens – British-American journalist, essayist, critic and writer{{cite web |url=https://www.salon.com/2005/08/26/hitchens_8/|title=Hitchens takes a beating|date=August 27, 2005|work=Salon}}
• Fred Kaplan
• Bill Keller
• George Packer
• Michael Tomasky – Editor of Guardian America
• Jacob Weisberg
• Fareed Zakaria
• Bernard-Henri Lévy
• Garry Kasparov

• Center for a New American Security

• Cold War liberal
• Democracy promotion
• Liberalism in Israel
• Progressive except Palestine
• Pro-war Left
• Neoconservatism

{{reflist|2}}

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20051218020332/http://www.ppionline.org/ppi_ci.cfm?knlgAreaID=124&subsecID=158&contentID=252144 Progressive Internationalism: A Democratic National Security Strategy]
• [http://www.slate.com/id/2093620/entry/2093641/ Slate: Liberal Hawks Reconsider the Iraq War]
• [http://www.lrb.co.uk/v28/n18/judt01_.html Bush’s Useful Idiots], Tony Judt, London Review of Books, 21 September 2006

Category:Liberalism in the United States

Category:People associated with war

Category:Political terminology of the United States

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