The rumored demise of the Weekly Standard is yet another of Donald J. Trump's achievements that will go uncelebrated by his liberal enemies: indeed, they are even now mourning the death of the neoconservative flagship.

And of course neoconservatism's many fellow-travelers are out there with panegyrics. It "stood up for conservative principle" in the age of Trump, writes Meghan McArdle. What principle this might be, Ms. McArdle somehow neglects to say: perhaps it's a penchant for perpetual war, the only known characteristic this famously eccentric and variable band hold in common. Both McArdle and the editors of the Standard thrilled their readers with stories of the great danger posed by Saddam Hussein, who they told us had nukes hidden beneath his palace ready to launch at a moment's notice.

Let's take a look at the three important roles played by the Standard and its editors in the history of the post-9/11 era.