Liberal hawk

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Liberal interventionist

title: "Liberal hawk" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["liberalism-in-the-united-states", "people-associated-with-war", "political-terminology-of-the-united-states", "anti-communism-in-the-united-states", "foreign-relations-of-the-united-states", "history-of-united-states-expansionism", "political-ideologies", "zionism-in-the-united-states"] description: "Liberal interventionist" topic_path: "politics" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberal_hawk" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Liberal interventionist ::

The term "liberal hawk" refers to a politically liberal person (generally, in the American sense of the term) who supports a hawkish, interventionist foreign policy.

Overview

Past U.S. presidents 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.

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.

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.

Opposition to the Sunshine Policy

The Sunshine Policy is the dovish foreign policy with North Korea of South Korean liberals, in which President Donald Trump has also expressed support, but the Washington establishment consisting of liberals and conservatives alike oppose their policy and support a more hawkish stance toward North Korea, creating a conflict with South Korean liberals.

Despite being a liberal, President Barack Obama opposed the Sunshine Policy and preferred a more hawkish foreign policy of "strategic patience".

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", supported Joe Biden. 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.

Notable people

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/10/Mike_Bloomberg_Headshot_(3x4_cropped).jpg" caption="Former [[New York City Mayor]] [[Michael Bloomberg]], who supported the [[Iraq War]]."] ::

The list includes people who have been described as liberal hawks.

Politicians

  • Michael Bloomberg – former New York City Mayor (2002-2013)
  • Lloyd Bentsen – former U.S. Representative from Texas (1948-1955), former U.S. Senator from Texas (1971-1993), former U.S. Secretary of the Treasury (1993-1994)
  • Howard Berman – former U.S. Representative from California
  • Elissa Slotkin – current U.S. Senator from Michigan, former U.S. House of Representatives from Michigan, former Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs
  • Joe Biden - former U.S. Senator from Delaware (1973-2009), former U.S. Vice President (2009-2017), former U.S. President (2021-2025)
  • Tony Blair – former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
  • Ben Cardin – former U.S. Senator from Maryland, former U.S. Representative from Maryland
  • 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
  • Joe Donnelly – former U.S. Representative and senator from Indiana
  • Eliot Engel – former U.S. Representative from New York
  • John Fetterman – U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania{{cite web|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/-not-progressive-fetterman-breaks-left-israel-immigration-rcna129747|title='I'm not a progressive': Fetterman breaks with the left, showing a maverick side |date=December 15, 2023|work=NBC News}}
  • Lois Frankel – U.S. Representative from Florida, former Mayor of West Palm Beach
  • Al Gore – former U.S. Senator from Tennessee, former Vice President of the United States, 2000 Democratic presidential nominee
  • Josh Gottheimer – U.S. Representative from New Jersey
  • Jane Harman – former U.S. Representative from California
  • Michael Ignatieff – former leader of the Liberal Party of Canada, former professor at Harvard's Carr Center for Human Rights Policy
  • Henry "Scoop" Jackson – United States Senator who represented Washington State from 1953 to 1983
  • Joe Lieberman – former U.S. Senator from Connecticut, 2000 Democratic vice presidential nominee, 2004 Democratic presidential candidate
  • 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
  • Bob Menendez – former U.S. Senator from New Jersey, former U.S. Representative from New Jersey
  • Sam Nunn – former U.S. Senator from Georgia (1972-1997)
  • Barack Obama – former U.S. President (2009-2017)
  • Brad Sherman – U.S. Representative from California
  • Kyrsten Sinema – former U.S. Senator from Arizona, former U.S. Representative from Arizona
  • Haley Stevens – U.S. Representative from Michigan

Government officials

Other

Institutions and publications

References

References

  1. (December 8, 2002). "The Liberal Quandary Over Iraq". The New York Times Magazine.
  2. [http://www.socialdemocrats.org/IraqLetter3.html Letter to President Bush] sent by [[Social Democrats USA]] {{webarchive. link. (May 9, 2008)
  3. (1 July 2019). ""트럼프, 미국판 '햇볕정책' 보여줘...4차회담은 8~9월"". 노컷뉴스.
  4. (17 June 2018). "Bruce Cumings hopes Trump's lack of ties to Washington establishment offers solution for Korean Peninsula". [[The Hankyoreh]].
  5. (3 July 2020). "문정인 "바이든이 미 대통령 되면 북한 문제 풀기 어려워"". [[동아일보]].
  6. 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]].
  7. (18 October 2017). "South Korean opposition leader: Nukes are the only way to guarantee peace". [[CNN]].
  8. (6 November 2020). "홍준표 "위장평화쇼 트럼프 시대 저물어…문재인 정권 심판받을 차례"". 머니투데이.
  9. (8 August 2020). "김어준 "바이든 찍으면 미북 정상회담 못 봐" 황당방송". [[조선일보]].
  10. Miller, Judith. (November 11, 2019). "The Mayor and the World". [[City Journal]].
  11. (January 7, 2020). "Bloomberg on backing 2003 invasion of Iraq: "I don't live in a regret world"".
  12. Honan, Edith. (October 2, 2007). "Bloomberg defends city surveillance camera plan". Reuters.
  13. Colvin, Jill. (April 22, 2013). "Bloomberg Says Interpretation of Constitution Will "Have to Change" After Boston Bombing". Observer.
  14. (December 13, 1973). "U.S. Foreign Policy Scored By Bentsen". The New York Times.
  15. (May 1, 1989). "The Prime of Lloyd Bentsen". Washington Post.
  16. (March 7, 2003). "Berman – A Hawk 20 Years in the Making". Los Angeles Times.
  17. Slotkin, Elissa. (13 June 2025). "Slotkin Statement on Israel’s Operation Against Iran".
  18. (Feb 17, 2020). "Joe Biden championed the Iraq war. Will that come back to haunt him now?". The Guardian.
  19. (May 28, 2007). "Liberal Hawks, an Endangered Species". The Weekly Standard.
  20. (February 23, 2003). "The Nation; Blair, the Hawk, Finds Himself With Some Unlikely Friends". The New York Times.
  21. (May 10, 2018). "Ben Cardin Is a Hawk. Will Maryland Voters Punish Him for It?". The Nation.
  22. (24 April 2016). "How Hillary Clinton Became a Hawk". The New York Times.
  23. (July 27, 2016). "Hillary the Hawk: A History". ForeignPolicy.com.
  24. (February 21, 2007). "Hillary the Hawk". The Nation.
  25. (December 5, 2017). "The Loneliest Democrat in Trump Country". Politico Magazine.
  26. (June 18, 2019). "Hawkish Democrat Rep. Eliot Engel Is Facing Two Primary Challengers".
  27. (November 14, 2023). "Senator John Fetterman Is a Progressive Icon, a Republican Hate Figure—and a Pro-Israel Pinup".
  28. (November 20, 2023). "Florida Democrat Who Voted to Censure Rep. Rashida Tlaib Quits Progressive Caucus". The Intercept.
  29. (April 10, 2021). "Concerns mount that US withdrawal from Afghanistan could risk progress on women’s rights". CNN.
  30. (2020). "President Gore's Foreign Policy". World Policy Journal.
  31. (August 31, 2022). "Hawkish Democrats Ramp Up Campaign Against Possible New Iran Deal".
  32. (April 20, 2009). "Harman's Harm?".
  33. (August 14, 2007). "Let the mighty liberal hawks soar". Los Angeles Times.
  34. (March 22, 1971). "The Nation: The Democrats' Liberal Hawk on Capitol Hill".
  35. (May 28, 2006). "Return of the liberal hawks". Los Angeles Times.
  36. (February 20, 2007). "Joe Lieberman, Religion, and Iraq". Smart Politics.
  37. (August 14, 2006). "A Hawk for All Seasons". The American Prospect.
  38. (May 3, 2018). "Who Would Joe Lieberman Vote for in 2020? Not Who You'd Think". Tablet Magazine.
  39. (April 21, 2019). "Meet the Democrats' New Voice on Foreign Policy". Politico.
  40. (December 2, 2013). "The Democrats' Unlikely Hawk". The American Conservative.
  41. (February 9, 2018). "Democrat hawk says he's sticking by Iran deal after reclaiming top panel spot". Al-Monitor.
  42. (February 25, 2007). "The Stuff Sam Nunn's Nightmares Are Made of".
  43. (October 10, 1995). "Nunn, Model Southern Democrat, To Retire From Senate Next Year".
  44. https://www.theatlantic.com/personal/archive/2008/11/barack-obama-liberal-hawk/55796/
  45. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-19733883
  46. (August 5, 2020). "Liberal Jewish groups warn against hawkish pick for House Foreign Affairs post". The Times of Israel.
  47. (October 12, 2018). "Kyrsten Sinema's anti-war activist past under scrutiny as she runs for Senate". CNN Politics.
  48. (February 7, 2024). "How the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict Drove a Wedge Into the Democratic Party". The New York Times.
  49. (March 11, 2022). "Democrat dozen threaten to torpedo Iran deal if it comes to Congress". The Times of Israel.
  50. Webber, Jay. (October 14, 2010). "Jake Sullivan - 40 Under 40".
  51. Sullivan, Jake. (October 24, 2023). "The Sources of American Power". Foreign Affairs.
  52. (December 15, 1996). "The Lady Is a Hawk". Newsweek.
  53. (November 27, 2015). "Once a Hawk, Brzezinski Sees Hope for U.S.-Russia Relations". Politico Magazine.
  54. (May 26, 2017). "Zbigniew Brzezinski, National Security Adviser to Jimmy Carter, Dies at 89". The New York Times.
  55. (June 5, 2017). "On Zbigniew Brzezinski: Geopolitical Mastermind, Realist Practitioner". Foreign Policy Journal.
  56. (2010). "A solution from hell: The United States and the rise of humanitarian interventionism, 1991–2003". Journal of Genocide Research.
  57. (April 8, 2009). "Dennis Ross's Iran Plan".
  58. (June 5, 2013). "The Return of the Liberal Hawks: Susan Rice and Samantha Power".
  59. "The Real Rice".
  60. (January 29, 2024). "Why do America's liberal hawks attack Russia while giving Israel a free pass?". The Guardian.
  61. (February 4, 2009). "Hawks Home to Roost".
  62. (January 11, 2001). "Holbrooke: Iraq Will Be a Major UN Issue for Bush Administration". United States Diplomatic Mission to Italy.
  63. https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2014/07/did-the-war-in-libya-prove-the-interventionists-right-or-wrong/375211/
  64. Indyk, Martin. (2009). "Innocent Abroad: An Intimate Account of American Peace Diplomacy in the Middle East". Simon and Schuster.
  65. Halberstam, David. (2002). "War in a Time of Peace". Simon and Schuster.
  66. (October 7, 2004). "Liberal Hawk Down". The Nation.
  67. Chait, Jonathan. (17 March 2010). "The Yoke's On You, Krauthammer".
  68. (May 14, 2021). "Why So Many Liberals Supported Invading Iraq".
  69. (August 27, 2005). "Hitchens takes a beating". Salon.
  70. https://www.nytimes.com/2002/12/08/magazine/the-liberal-quandary-over-iraq.html
  71. (January 29, 2024). "Why do America's liberal hawks attack Russia while giving Israel a free pass?". The Guardian.

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liberalism-in-the-united-statespeople-associated-with-warpolitical-terminology-of-the-united-statesanti-communism-in-the-united-statesforeign-relations-of-the-united-stateshistory-of-united-states-expansionismpolitical-ideologieszionism-in-the-united-states