Bernard Lewis, Neoconservative Intellectual And ‘Godfather’ Of Iraq War, Dies At 101
Bernard Lewis chats with Henry Kissinger Image by friends of tel aviv university
Historian Bernard Lewis, a Jewish neoconservative who warned of a “clash of civilizations” between Islam and the West, died Saturday at the age of 101 in New Jersey.
Lewis was a consultant to both Israeli leaders and two U.S. presidents.
He is perhaps best known as one of the intellectual architects of the war to topple Saddam Hussein, which turned into a quagmire that cost billions and thousands of American lives.
Generations of students, intelligence personnel and diplomats learned about the history of Islam through his writings. His research, which dealt with the history of the Middle East, brought him fame, but also many critics and enemies around the world. One of his strongest critics was the Palestinian-born intellectual Edward Said, who accused him of a patronizing attitude toward Islam, demagoguery and ignorance. “For some, I’m the towering genius,” Lewis said in 2012. “For others, I’m the devil incarnate.”
A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
