Books : The New American Militarism: How Americans Are Seduced by War

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by: Andrew J. Bacevich

: The New American Militarism: How Americans Are Seduced by War

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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 355.02130973
EAN: 9780195311983
ISBN: 0195311981
Label: Oxford University Press, USA
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 288
Publication Date: September 07, 2006
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Sales Rank: 15967
Studio: Oxford University Press, USA



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Product Description:
In this provocative book, Andrew Bacevich warns of a dangerous dual obsession that has taken hold of Americans, conservatives, and liberals alike. It is a marriage of militarism and utopian ideology--of unprecedented military might wed to a blind faith in the universality of American values. This mindset, the author warns, invites endless war and the ever-deepening militarization of U.S. policy. It promises not to perfect but to pervert American ideals and to accelerate the hollowing out of American democracy. As it alienates others, it will leave the United States increasingly isolated. It will end in bankruptcy, moral as well as economic, and in abject failure.
With The New American Militarism, which has been updated with a new Afterword, Bacevich examines the origins and implications of this misguided enterprise. He shows how American militarism emerged as a reaction to the Vietnam War. Various groups in American society--soldiers, politicians on the make, intellectuals, strategists, Christian evangelicals, even purveyors of pop culture--came to see the revival of military power and the celebration of military values as the antidote to all the ills besetting the country as a consequence of Vietnam and the 1960s. The upshot, acutely evident in the aftermath of 9/11, has been a revival of vast ambitions and certainty, this time married to a pronounced affinity for the sword. Bacevich urges us to restore a sense of realism and a sense of proportion to U.S. policy. He proposes, in short, to bring American purposes and American methods--especially with regard to the role of the military--back into harmony with the nation's founding ideals.



Customer Reviews
Average Rating: out of 5 stars

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars - Great book, but...
For a foreigner (Colombian), who went to engineering school and lived in the US for five years, enjoying american life style and many personal friendships, the book is well intentioned. Basically, there never will be "victory" for the US in Irak, but the entrenched garrison within the green zone will permit continuity of the exploitation of Irak's natural resource, oil, on a compulsary basis. Changing oil for blood is a sad fact, and the ratio of american casualties (a few thousand), to civil iraqui casualties (at leat a million), is regrettable and shameful, not fair. Another salient case of national BAD KARMA for the US. HC


Rating: 5 out of 5 stars - A Panaramic Analysis of American Militarism.
"The New American Militarism-How Americans Are Seduced by War" is an analysis of the subject from multiple viewpoints. Andrew Bacevich examines American militarism from the point of: politicians, the military, evangelical Christians, and society in general.

In the Preface the author is quite candid and humble about himself, his idealogy, and some of the experiences that helped form his positions.
"Some will misread this as cynicism. It is instead the absence of illusion."
He doesn't attempt to lay blame.

The chapter on the neoconservative idealogy (Left,Right,Left)was very good. Some of the leaders were "devout Wilsonians, devoted to the proposition that American values are by definition universal values." That's an accurate assessment of exporting democracy.
"The conception of politics to which neoconservatives paid allegiance owed more to the ethos of the Left than the orthodoxes of the Right.On the Right they hoped to find the oppurtunity to create the alternative perception of reality necessary for fulfilling their radical aspirations." One of those aspirations was the global empire that we have now.

In analyzing the view of evangelical Christians on militarism he made this truthful observation on page 124-
"The relationship between Christianity and war has been a tangled one. Despite Christ's admonition to love one's neighbor and to turn the other cheek, Christians historically have slaughtered their fellow men, to include their fellow Christians, in breathtakingly large numbers."
Some Christian advocate war more than others.

Some more subject matter that I found revelatory were:

*The author compares current and past presidents foreign policy to that of Woodrow Wilson.
*The analysis of the Weinberger and Powell Doctrines regarding pre-conditions for engagement.
*Where the idea for prosecuting two wars concurrently originated.
*The quote from a Pentagon General assessing Rumsfeld as someone who has "done more damage to the country than we will recover from in 50 years" was sobering.
*The "priesthood of strategists". Who they are and how deeply they have affected military strategy .
*A comparison of former presidents and how they viewed and sometimes utilized the military.

Mr. Bacevich offers some sensible solutions to the current problems of American militarism, one being to utilize the National Guard more at home for Homeland Security activities. Border Patrol would make sense.
"American policymakers should employ force only with reluctance and after the most careful deliberation....and it should do so with one eye cocked on the home front, wary of claims of military necessity being used to compromise our civil liberties."

My interest in Andrew Bacevich's books was kindled by watching an appearance he made on Bill Moyer's program to promote "The Limits of Power." This book is one of the best I have read in some time.I'd rate it highly and in the league of Chalmers Johnson's books.




Rating: 5 out of 5 stars - The Danger in having a voluntary Army in an Empire Nation
Andrew Bacevich as a graduate of West Point, Vietnam veteran, and Army Colonel knows what he is talking about when he calmly but with piercing clarity lays out the dangers in America's preoccupation with military power. He writes with great understanding of the military and explains why we are placing too much emphasis on war, soldiers, and military solutions.


Rating: 5 out of 5 stars - The New Militarism
I was mesmerized listening to the author as he was interviewed on PBS with Bill Moyers; I was even more taken by his eloquence and sholarship which plainly expresses his views about our obsession with the military and how to balance our concerns for our protection with our civilian responsibility. He offers 10 clear and excellent suggestions, and note upon note about his resources. His is a historical and personal view.
I recommend it to all.


Rating: 5 out of 5 stars - conservative rightist critisizes with facts
The author is a Vietnam vet and admits to be a conservative and on the right and he fairly critisizes past Presidential offices and describes why America is on the warpath from past trends and decisions.

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