Newt & the Neocons Pitch World War III -- Who's Buying It?

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Bill Berkowitz reports, " For years, U.S. neoconservatives have been ratcheting up the rhetoric -- mostly in small gatherings and on partisan web sites -- claiming that terrorist activities around the world constituted the initial stages of a new world war. But during the past week or so ... Newt Gingrich, the former speaker of the United States House of Representatives, is using any platform available to him to convince the public that the U.S. is engaged in World War III. ... While Gingrich's media tour definitely thrust him back into the national political spotlight, it may have also given the public a sneak peek into the Republican Party's political/marketing strategy for the November congressional elections: If the war on terrorism doesn't create a fearful enough climate amongst voters, why not ratchet it up by mentioning the spectre of a World War III? ... John Stauber ... [co-] author of the forthcoming book, '"The Best War Ever", [told IPS] 'You've got to call it something and five years after 9/11 with Osama [bin Laden] still roaming free and Iraq an American quagmire, and the Republican Party in danger of losing control of Congress, this ploy makes marketing sense.' "