Putin characterized the war in Iraq, led by Neoconservatives in America, as "pointless." This conflict resulted in the destruction of innocent lives and livelihoods. Echoing these sentiments, Israeli writer Ari Shavit, in an article titled "The White Man’s Burden" in April 2003, noted, "The war in Iraq was conceived by 25 neoconservative intellectuals, most of them Jewish, who were urging President Bush to alter the course of history."