William Kristol: Editor's Columns, 1995–2018
As founding editor, William Kristol wrote the editorial columns that set the magazine's direction on the defining questions of its era — foreign policy after the Cold War, the rise and limits of the Bush presidency, and finally the transformation of the Republican Party under Donald Trump. This selection spans the full run.
9 articles
- 1
SADDAM MUST Go
The Editors November 17, 1997Among the earliest and most forceful calls for confronting Iraq — years before it became official policy.
- 2
Crush the Insurgents in Iraq
William Kristol May 24, 2004Refusing to accept defeat as the insurgency grew — an argument that anticipated the surge.
- 3
Time for a Heavier Footprint
William Kristol November 27, 2006Co-written with Frederick Kagan: the strategic blueprint for the surge.
- 4
All We Are Saying . . .Is Give Petraeus a Chance
William Kristol January 29, 2007Defense of the Petraeus strategy against its critics on the left and the right.
- 5
Up from Trumpism
William Kristol September 7, 2015Early 2015: Kristol identifies Trumpism as a corrupting force before most conservatives took it seriously.
- 6
Against Trump Fatalism
William Kristol February 24, 2016A refusal to accept inevitability — the argument that principled opposition was still possible.
- 7
The Trump Captivity of the GOP
William Kristol July 19, 2016Post-convention: an honest reckoning with what had happened to the party.
- 8
Neither Clinton Nor Trump
William Kristol May 6, 2016The magazine's formal editorial position in 2016 — a statement of independence that came at a price.
- 9
Putin's Party?
William Kristol July 24, 2016The foreign policy stakes of Trumpism — written at the Republican convention.