The Implications of the War for the Republican Party

There are hawkish folks who probably wanted Al Gore to be president over George W. Bush because he was seen as the figure that would be less interventionist in his foreign policy, says Peter Bergen. The view among the Bush administration was: "If the Clintons are preoccupied with this, it must not be very important" There simply was not a set policy in place in the conservative intelligentsia regarding Al Qaeda and thus they were caught flat-footed on September 11th said Bergen.