Editing Andrew Sullivan (section)

===Foreign policy ===
====Iraq war, war on terror====
Sullivan supported the United States' [[2003 invasion of Iraq]] and was initially hawkish in the [[war on terror]], arguing that weakness would embolden terrorists. He was "one of the most militant"<ref name="intelligent" /> supporters of the Bush administration's counter-terrorism strategy immediately following the [[September 11 attacks]] in 2001; in an essay for ''[[The Sunday Times]]'', he wrote, "The middle part of the country—the great [[red states and blue states|red zone]] that voted for Bush—is clearly ready for war. The decadent Left in its enclaves on the coasts is not dead—and may well mount what amounts to a [[fifth column]]."<ref>{{cite web |last=Noah |first=Timothy |date=2 December 2002 |title=Gore, Sullivan, and "Fifth Column" |url=http://www.slate.com/id/2074734/ |work=[[Slate (magazine)|Slate]] |access-date=22 June 2011 |archive-date=14 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110814073313/http://www.slate.com/id/2074734/ |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Eric Alterman]] wrote in 2002 that Sullivan had "set himself up as a one-man [[House Un-American Activities Committee]]" running an "inquisition" to unmask "anti-war Democrats", "basing his argument less on the words these politicians speak than on the thoughts he knows them to be holding in secret".<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Alterman |first=Eric |date=8 April 2002 |title=Sullivan's Travails |magazine=[[The Nation (magazine)|The Nation]] |url=http://www.thenation.com/issue/april-8-2002 |access-date=26 October 2013 |archive-date=3 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240903205120/https://www.thenation.com/issue/april-8-2002/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Later, Sullivan criticised the Bush administration for its prosecution of the war, especially regarding the numbers of troops, protection of munitions, and treatment of prisoners, including the use of torture against detainees in U.S. custody.<ref>{{cite web |title=Archives: Daily Dish |url=http://sullivanarchives.theatlantic.com/index.php.dish_inc-archives.2005_01_09_dish_archive.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029191318/http://sullivanarchives.theatlantic.com/index.php.dish_inc-archives.2005_01_09_dish_archive.html |archive-date=29 October 2013 |access-date=1 August 2013 |work=The Atlantic}}</ref> He argued that [[enemy combatant]]s in the war on terror should not have been given status as [[prisoners of war]] because "terrorists are not soldiers",<ref>{{cite web |title=The View From Your Window |url=http://www.andrewsullivan.com/index.php?dish_inc=archives/2005_07_03_dish_archive.html#112085651653164877 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050717230946/http://www.andrewsullivan.com/index.php?dish_inc=archives%2F2005_07_03_dish_archive.html |archive-date=17 July 2005 |access-date=29 January 2013 |publisher=andrewsullivan.com}}</ref> but he believed that the U.S. government was required to abide by the [[rules of war]]—in particular, Article 3 of the [[Third Geneva Convention|Geneva Conventions]]—when dealing with such detainees.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Reality of War |url=http://time.blogs.com/daily_dish/2006/07/hamdan_myths_an.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090106000231/http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/ |archive-date=6 January 2009 |access-date=29 January 2013 |work=The Daily Dish}}</ref> In retrospect, Sullivan said that the [[Abu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuse|torture and abuse of prisoners]] at the [[Abu Ghraib prison]] in Iraq had jolted him back to "sanity".<ref name="intelligent" /> Of his early support for the invasion of Iraq, he said, "I was terribly wrong. In the shock and trauma of 9/11, I forgot the principles of scepticism and doubt towards utopian schemes that I had learned."<ref name="intelligent" />

On the 27 October 2006 episode of ''[[Real Time with Bill Maher]]'', Sullivan described conservatives and Republicans who refused to admit they had been wrong to support the Iraq War as "cowards". On 26 February 2008, he wrote on his blog: "After 9/11, I was clearly blinded by fear of [[al Qaeda]] and deluded by the overwhelming military superiority of the US and the ease of democratic transitions in Eastern Europe into thinking we could simply fight our way to victory against Islamist terror. I wasn't alone. But I was surely wrong."<ref>{{cite web |date=26 February 2008 |title=McCain's National Greatness Conservatism |url=http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2008/02/mccains-nationa.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090305093346/http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2008/02/mccains-nationa.html |archive-date=5 March 2009 |access-date=29 January 2013 |work=The Daily Dish |publisher=Andrew Sullivan}}</ref> His reversal on Iraq and increasing attacks on the Bush administration caused a severe backlash from many hawkish conservatives, who accused him of not being a "real" conservative.<ref name="intelligent" />

Sullivan authored an opinion piece, "Dear President Bush," that was featured as the cover article of the October 2009 edition of ''[[The Atlantic]]''.<ref>{{cite web |last=Cleland |first=Elizabeth |date=1 October 2009 |title=Dear President Bush |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200910/bush-torture |access-date=4 December 2013 |work=[[The Atlantic]] |archive-date=30 September 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090930204304/http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200910/bush-torture |url-status=live }}</ref> In it, he called on Bush to take personal responsibility for the incidents and practices of torture that occurred during his administration as part of the war on terror.

====Israel====
Sullivan has said that he has "always been a [[Zionist]]",<ref>A. Sullivan, [http://andrewsullivan.thedailybeast.com/2011/05/mr-netanyahu-expects.html Mr Netanyahu "Expects"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110523131119/http://andrewsullivan.thedailybeast.com/2011/05/mr-netanyahu-expects.html |date=23 May 2011 }}, 20 May 2011.</ref> but his views of Israel have become more critical over time. In February 2009, he wrote that he could no longer take the [[Neoconservatism|neoconservative]] position on Israel seriously.<ref>Andrew Sullivan,[http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2009/02/a-false-premise.html "A False Premise"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110129212936/http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2009/02/a-false-premise.html |date=29 January 2011 }}, Sullivan's Daily Dish, 5 February 2009.</ref>

In January 2010, Sullivan blogged that he was "moving toward" the idea of "a direct American military imposition" of a [[two-state solution]] to the [[Israeli–Palestinian conflict|Israeli-Palestinian conflict]], with [[NATO]] troops enforcing "the borders of the new states of Palestine and Israel". He wrote, "I too am sick of the Israelis. [...] I'm sick of having a great power like the US being dictated to."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2010/01/sick-of-the-israelis-and-the-palestinians.html|title=Sick|date=6 January 2010|access-date=7 January 2010| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100109011639/http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2010/01/sick-of-the-israelis-and-the-palestinians.html| archive-date= 9 January 2010 | url-status= live}}</ref> His post was criticised by Noah Pollak of ''[[Commentary Magazine|Commentary]]'', who called it "crazy", "heady stuff" based on "hubris".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.commentarymagazine.com/2010/01/06/andrew-sullivan-its-time-to-invade-israel/|date=6 January 2010|access-date=7 January 2010|title=Andrew Sullivan: It's Time to Invade Israel|first=Noah|last=Pollak|publisher=[[Commentary Magazine|Commentary]]|archive-date=9 June 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110609185403/http://www.commentarymagazine.com/2010/01/06/andrew-sullivan-its-time-to-invade-israel/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In February 2010, [[Leon Wieseltier]] suggested in ''[[The New Republic]]'' that Sullivan, a former friend and colleague, had a "venomous hostility toward Israel and Jews" and was "either a bigot, or just moronically insensitive" toward the Jewish people.<ref>{{cite magazine|first=Leon|last=Wieseltier|authorlink=Leon Wieseltier|url=http://www.tnr.com/article/something-much-darker|title=Something Much Darker. Andrew Sullivan has a serious problem|magazine=[[The New Republic]]|date=8 February 2010|access-date=12 February 2010|archive-date=12 February 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100212101748/http://www.tnr.com/article/something-much-darker|url-status=live}}</ref> Sullivan rejected the accusation and was defended by some writers, while others at least partly supported Wieseltier.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theatlanticwire.com/opinions/view/opinion/19-Pundits-on-the-Sullivan-Wieseltier-Debate-2500|title=19 Pundits on the Sullivan-Wieseltier Debate|website=[[The Atlantic]]|date=11 February 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100212230749/http://www.theatlanticwire.com/opinions/view/opinion/19-Pundits-on-the-Sullivan-Wieseltier-Debate-2500 |archive-date=12 February 2010 }}</ref>

In March 2019, Sullivan wrote in ''[[New York (magazine)|New York]]'' magazine that while he strongly supported the right of a Jewish state to exist, he felt that U.S. Representative [[Ilhan Omar]]'s [[Ilhan Omar#Remarks on AIPAC and American support for Israel|comments about the influence of the pro-Israel lobby]] were largely correct. He said, "it is simply a fact that the Israel lobby uses money, passion, and persuasion to warp this country's foreign policy in favor of another country—out of all proportion to what Israel can do for the US."<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2019/03/how-should-we-talk-about-the-israel-lobbys-power.html|title=How Should We Talk About the Israel Lobby's Power?|last=Sullivan|first=Andrew|date=March 8, 2019|website=[[Intelligencer (website)|Intelligencer]]|language=en|access-date=2019-03-08|archive-date=10 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190310074700/http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2019/03/how-should-we-talk-about-the-israel-lobbys-power.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

====Iran====
Sullivan devoted a significant amount of blog space to the allegations of fraud and related protests after the [[2009 Iranian presidential election]]. Francis Wilkinson of ''[[The Week]]'' said that Sullivan's "coverage—and that journalism term takes on new meaning here—of the uprising in Iran was nothing short of extraordinary. 'Revolutionary' might be a better word."<ref>{{cite news |first=Francis |last=Wilkinson |url=http://www.theweek.com/article/index/98673/The_future_belongs_to_Andrew_Sullivan |title=The future belongs to Andrew Sullivan |newspaper=[[The Week]] |access-date=4 December 2013 |archive-date=7 December 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131207102646/http://theweek.com/article/index/98673/The_future_belongs_to_Andrew_Sullivan |url-status=live }}</ref>

Sullivan was inspired by the Iranian people's reactions to the election results and used his blog as a hub of information. Because of the media blackout in Iran, Iranian Twitter accounts were a major source of information. Sullivan frequently quoted and linked to [[Nico Pitney]] of ''[[The Huffington Post]]''.<ref>{{cite web |last=Sullivan |first=Andrew |url=http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2009/06/is-iran-calming-down.html |title=Is Iran Calming Down? |website=[[The Atlantic]] |date=22 June 2009 |access-date=11 August 2010 |archive-date=2 February 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110202111225/http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2009/06/is-iran-calming-down.html |url-status=live }}</ref>