"Imperial Designs describes how the ideology of American global preeminence originated during the presidency of George H. W. Bush, developed in the 1990s, gained power with the election of George W. Bush, and reshaped American foreign policy after September 11, 2001." "A story of the founders - both inside and outside of the administration - of Bush's hawkish foreign policy, Imperial Designs traces the neoconservatives from their split with the American Left to their push for pre-emptive war with Iraq."--BOOK JACKET.