Irving Kristol, "godfather" of neoconservatism
• "I have been a neo-Marxist, a neo-Trotskist, a neo-socialist, a neo-liberal, and finally a neoconservative.
From his "Autobiographical Memoir" we also learn,  ... I have been "neo-orthodox" in my religious views." By 'neo' Kristol just means "smarter than most," and he probably is.

"The two thinkers who had the greatest subsequent impact on my thinking were Lionel Trilling in the 1940's [a liberal] and Leo Strauss in the 1950's [a conservative]." Clearly Stauss had the greater impact. Kristol gives him twice the space and treats him as his guru.

"Mr. Strauss ... was from a different Planet. A German-Jewish émigré who had been a student of medieval Jewish and Arabic philosophy, he was the quintessential philosopher. ... His students—those happy few who sat at his feet—became 'Straussians'." These students of Leo Strauss, in turn, have produced another generation of political theorists, [the neocons] many of whom have relocated to Washington, D.C."

What did Mr. Strauss think?
• "he was no kind of "intellectual"—a class he held in, at best, tolerant contempt."
• "He was an intellectual aristocrat who thought that the truth could make some minds free. [Kristol's emphasis.]
• "Strauss did not disguise his disgust for what his contemporaries called 'political science.'"
• "He was persuaded that the great philosophers prior to the Age of Reason, and many of the greatest poets, shared his point of view.

Clearly Mr. Strauss thought we was smarter than almost everyone except the "greats," as Kristol calls them. He was very, very neo. But Strauss goes beyond condescension, and that’s the problem. Not only are the elite who understand each other smarter, but the “truth” which they know is dangerous for the “common man.” The "greats" knew this, and so Kristol tells us:

"They [the 'greats'] took the greatest care in their writing so as not to, as the British would say, ‘frighten the horses.’"

Does "Straussian" Thought Explain Neocon Talk?
The “horses” are, of course, those who Kristol calls “the common man,” and this time it is not the upper class Brits calling them horses, but Kristol himself. This thinking (Strauss's and Kristol's) explains the neocons arguments as they lead America into the Iraq War. The neocons were sure that their real reasons for wanting war—to strengthen Israel, to control Iraqi oil, to move our troops out of Saudi Arabia—these reasons would “frighten the horses.” Consequently they “took the greatest care in their writing” and wrote only of WMD, Saddam's "connection" to 9/11, and the need to "export democracy."

This is identical to the approach that Strauss believes was taken by the great philosophers of old. Kristol explains: "One therefore had to study—not read—their texts with a quasi-"talmudic" intensity and care, in order to distinguish between their "esoteric" [true] and "exoteric" [for the horses] views." The same is true today of everything the neocons write. Their "true" meaning is hidden, but if you study their writing, you will find their "true" meaning.

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Norman Podhoretz, Editor at large for Commentary.
• #2 Neocon godfather, mentored by Irving Kristol.
• Editor-in-Chief of Commentary, 1960–1995.
• Current focus is the war on terrorism. Calling it World War IV, he predicts it will last for generations.

Connections to Other Neocons
Signer of PNAC "Principles." It's members include:
Cheney, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, Feith, Bolton, Libby, Abrams, Wurmser, and Perle

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William Kristol
• Co-founder and chairman of PNAC
• Son of neoconservative “godfather” Irving Kristol
• Editor of the neocon publication “The Weekly Standard.”

Connections to Other Neocons:
1997---, Founder of PNAC, member of which include:
Cheney, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, Feith, Bolton, Libby, Abrams, Wurmser, and Perle
Frequent co-author with Kagan

Robert Kagan
• Co-founder with Kristol of PNAC the main neocon lobby.
• Signer of 1998 letter to Clinton advocating Iraq War.
• Famous for saying Americans are from Mars, Europeans from Venus.
He ignores the fact that when our war changes from shock-and-awe with smart bombs to a weekly body count, America starts sounding a lot like Europe. If he wants to judge who's most willing to fight and die for a cause in wars, Al Qaeda wins the contest. That's where pundit logic gets you.

His wife, Victoria Nuland, was National Security Advisor to Cheney from July 2003 until May 2005, where she worked on the promotion of democracy and security in Iraq among other things.

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