David Frum: Patriotic un-conservative

Somebody had faxed over a copy of the article before the issue hit newsstand. Kathleen in the office made copies for everyone in the office to read. I had been expecting forceful disagreement from those conservatives who favored invading Iraq, but I never expected anything like this — the vitriol, the name-calling, the smears, and tendentiousness.

“Unpatriotic Conservatives” was the headline of what I will always regard as David Frum’s magnum opus — a 4,000-word cover page for National Review. The piece targeted a motley crew of libertarians and conservatives who had dissented from George W. Bush’s plans for invasion, regime change, and nation-building in Iraq.