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The American Way of War: Guided Missiles, Misguided Men, and a Republic in Peril

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Booking the Empire: "Why We Fight" Filmmaker Makes His Case In Print

by Rob Williams; editor, Vermont Commons newspaper

What happens when an award-winning documentary film producer turns to a print monograph to make his case?

If you are Eugene Jarecki, the answer (to borrow a baseball metaphor) is: you hit a solid triple, with an eye towards home plate.

Jarecki's new book - The American Way of War: Guided Missiles, Misguided Men and a Republic in Peril (Simon and Schuster, 2008; 324 pages) - is a provocative and personal exploration of the same crucial themes he explored in his Sundance Film Festival 2005 Grand Jury Prize-winning documentary "Why We Fight." Ignore Jarecki's "confession" to being "first and foremost a filmmaker" on page 1, rather than a "policy scholar, a soldier" or an "insider to the workings of America's military establishment."

Pay his humility no mind. Jarecki possesses a keen eye for detail, an ability to listen closely to his subject's personal and professional motivations (and the often-felt tension between the two), and a knack for speaking synechdocally - that is, using individuals and moments to illustrate larger systemic and historical truths, and the reader is the better for it.

The book begins, as his film does, with President Dwight David Eisenhower's 1961 "Farewell Address," in which the prescient Ike warns Americans to guard against the dangers of the "military-industrial complex," that potent and profit-seeking combination of special interests that might spell the death of the U.S. republic. Jarecki then takes us on a historical and global tour of the United States, from its early 20th century emergence as a global imperial force to the present moment, with some remarkable stops along the way, from interviews with air force pilots and West Point cadets to conversations with those in the highest levels of government, including Richard Perle and Republican presidential candidate John McCain, who proclaims the United States to be "the greatest force for good in the world today."

How McCain measures this goodness is, of course, a matter for readers to ponder, given the economic and political realities of our current moment, and Jarecki's book, while wisely steering clear of an attempt to exhaustively chronicle America's empire-building abroad, explores the historical tension between America's desire to remain a neutral, even isolationist player on the world stage, and its desire to build an Empire. Eisenhower, for whom Jarecki has deep admiration (as have I, even more so after reading Jarecki's book) remains the central figure here, walking a remarkable line between competing pulls on his loyalty as a military man, a policymaker, and a compassionate human being in a tough position of leadership.

Not surprisingly, as Eisenhower himself warned, the war-making and profit-taking interests have dominated this debate during the past sixty years, and Jarecki takes pains to explain the nuances that undergird the building of the most powerful (and expensive) Empire in world history. His final chapter - "Shock and Awe at Home" - is a referendum on the past eight years of King George's administration. For anyone who is unfamiliar with or has forgotten how the USA PATRIOT Act, or John Yoo's new and novel legal theory of "the unitary executive," or the John Warner and Military Commissions Acts, or the FISA nonsense, or dozens of other presidential abuses of power have reshaped the federal government's very essence over the past eight years, a close reading of this chapter alone is worth the price of the book. And I am not comforted by the conclusion most observers make here - that, once Mr. Bush exits office stage right, somehow everything will "return to normal." Sunset clauses somehow provide little comfort here.

Speaking critically, as a U.S. historian and secessionist/ decentralist, my arguments with Jarecki's book are not insignificant. I find troubling his refusal to touch the mountain of evidence - the scholarly and well-researched work of David Ray Griffin or Michael Ruppert, for example - that suggests that the 9/11 attacks served as a "false flag" operation engineered by elements within the U.S. government to advance a "new Pearl Harbor." This is an odd omission, since this phrase is one he uses repeatedly in the book, quoting the Project For A New American Century's statement calling for a new "defensive" posture - one that essential advocates a policy of "full spectrum dominance" in which the U.S. militarizes the entire globe and outer space. (Orwell would be nodding knowingly right now.)

Jarecki's otherwise spot on "iron triangle" analysis - in which he masterfully considers the intricate interconnections among the U.S. military, profit (and war) seeking global corporations, and both the legislative and executive branches - largely leaves out the vital role of U.S. media and "news" outlets as propaganda arms for war-making (General Electric manufactures weapons systems for the Pentagon AND owns NBC, which hypes war 24/7. This is not a coincidence).

And, perhaps most importantly, Jarecki chooses to downplay the tremendous amount of money U.S.-based multinational corporations (and the politicians who front for and work with them - Dick Cheney, Don Rumsfeld, and the current occupant of the White House, He Who Must Not Be Named) have made supporting what former Bush I insider-turned whistleblower Catherine Austin Fitts calls "the tapeworm economy."

The country of Iraq is a perfect example here. Let's connect the dots: the U.S. military-industrial-media-energy-complex makes money bombing and destroying Iraq (Ka-ching!), "rebuilding" Iraq, often badly and/or corruptedly (Ka-ching!, Part 2), while privatizing all of its assets (Ka-ching! Part 3). Oil, black gold, is the bloody tip of the spear point here, as 1 million Iraqis have died since the U.S. 2003 invasion, 2 million more have been displaced, and the U.S. taxpayers have been left footing what Nobel Prize winning economist Joseph Stieglitz has estimated to be a $3 trillion dollar war ("on terror, that "will not end in our lifetimes," according to Mr. Cheney.)

If I sound outraged, I am - and, while I deeply appreciate Jarecki's willingness to listen to all sides, I found myself wishing he'd take off the gloves, at times. But I am also willing to own my own sense of outrage, and laud Jarecki for his vital contribution to this important and unfolding conversation about the future of the United States under the regime that is the "military-industrial complex." In turning to typography, filmmaker Jarecki has produced what many will see as a minor tour de force, an important book at a pivotal moment in the history of the United States republic-turned-empire.

I have to admit, I am a bit of a centrist in many things and a conservative in others, yet this book took me out of my comfort zone and challenged my thinking, or should I say, propagandized mind.

Jarecki, the filmmaker of "Why We Fight," goes to the next level to delve into the history and development of America's way of war, particular since the end of the WWII and the beginning of the cold war. Jarecki starts with the present, flashes back to the times of Truman and Eisenhower and then back to the present again in reviewing how we got to where we are. He also goes into our going to war in WWII and how that influence the very important National Security Act of 1947 that eventually lead to the MIC (the Military Industrial Complex).

What fascinate me in all this is when he shows that Truman and the Dems of his time and for sometime there after were the ones engaging in developing our military capacity after WWII and the Republicans wanted to get back to isolationism. One area I wished he had spent a little time on would have been how did we get from that to the why, when and how the transition took place.

His approach to the NeoConservatives (fake conservatives) was really enlightening. So, really, we have a group of individuals who write a blueprint for the USA and it is followed almost to the letter after 9-11. He is really so very well researched and rarely allows himself to show any narrow mindedness in political discussion. However, there are times where he seems to contradict himself. Ike was warning that there was less need for nukes and Kennedy was for them, then a little later, Kennedy said Ike was all for nukes and not for conventional war making as much. He could have clarified his thoughts on things like this.

His book is also written with the framework of what the founders and framers of our nation and approach to our republic had written about foriegn entanglements. But, what is relatively glossed over is what do we do when the USA is really the only nation left standing intact after a great and terrible war? He does not weigh the difference with responsibility and meddling in the affairs of other countries.

Jarecki writes as if there are not even potential enemies. Although there was a lot of fearmongering during the cold war, was there relatively little threat during that time. He writes about specific programs that were wasteful, the exposing of corruption in Defense spending and related issues, but sometimes he asks if we really needed certain weapons. For instance the F22 fighter. The author mentions we have no enemies with an airforce, so why do we need fighter planes? Well, he is not asking this rhetorically, he means it and yes we did spend way to much on implements of war at times, but a reality check would say we have potential enemies, and there are other uses for fighter planes instead of dog fights.

As I write this, Venezuela is inviting Russian Naval warships to its ports. So close to us and the leader of Venezuela has let us know what he feels about us. So I ask the author and the readers of this very informative book, do we have potential enemies?

He asks or repeats the question "why do they hate us?" throughout the time frame of our present day. But do we ever ask the question has anyone really ever liked us? I had just ended reading Old World New World where the British and USA are featured as the leaders of the world for trade, finance and yes war making capacity and control. The world that was prior to WWII was not a pleasant place and has always been cursed with wars, skirmishes, persecutions and factionism.

Whether US should or not follow the Truman Doctrine, policing the free world, is another topic for another author. But, the issue he focuses on is not just the USA's war making capacity, it is the greed and corrupt way we go about the acquisition and procuring war making implements.

Telling in the book is his adding another C, congressional, to the letters MIC. He feels that Congress has become a unified whole, both sides of the aisle, in its support of the MIC and he gives reasons why.

I have to say, I was a little sceptical when I began reading this as maybe, he was going to rant. But I was looking particularly for one fact to be addressed to see if he completed his thought on the subject of US warmaking. Smedly Butler is the subject I looked for and because he mentions Butler, I continued this book until its end. You will have to read the book to really understand what I mean.

In our time, this is a must read. Although discussions should ensue surrounding what he says, especially poinant is the discussion of the NeoCons. This book can help our country look at itself and do what it can to get away from cronyism and corruption at the highest levels of our society. I guess, only time will tell.

Jarecki goes into great detail, with a comprehensive historical background framework, to explain how the United States has become today a monstrous war machine with 93% of the whole Defense budget going to the DoD and only the remaining 7% to the State Department. Which explains in a nutshell why, when problems arise, they are likely be solved militarily.

From the founders to the Bush administration, Jarecki explains how there has been a continuous erosion of the legislative power - with stunning insights into this last administration's wrongdoings leading to an unnecessary war in Iraq.

It is time for the American people to be aware of what is happening without their knowledge and to expose the wrongdoings of their corrupt politicians!

A good way to start is to read this book.

Regardless of one's political leanings, there's no denying that the United States has steadily increased its involvement in the affairs of other nations (and vice versa) over the past two centuries, or that the development of agencies like the CIA and NSA have granted significant new powers to the Executive branch of its government. (Of course, the rest of the world hasn't exactly been static over that time.) Eugene Jarecki's new book follows the changing nature of US foreign policy to try and put the events of the past eight years into historical context. While the author's anti-Bush agenda is clear and colors most of the work, the context he develops is fascinating and important to understand in its own right.

The writing is entertaining, although the author's point of view can sometimes be grating for those who don't share it (or who might grow tired of its somewhat outdated views on Iraq, which at times read as though they were written in 2005, not 2008). For example, after quoting Susan Eisenhower on her grandfather making sure to personally write letters to the families of soldiers killed in the Second World War, Jarecki writes: "Speaking at a time when sitting president George W. Bush shows little desire to recognize U.S. military losses, let alone attend military funerals or communicate with grieving families, Susan pauses to let the pregnant contrast speak for itself." Maybe she explained the meaning behind her "pause," or maybe it was obvious, but it's also quite possible that the author is simply projecting his own attitude onto his subject. On the other hand, the opinionated commentary should not dissuade anyone from reading the book, which is chock-full of anecdotes and quotes that are well worth reading.

The book is a good companion piece to Jarecki's documentary film Why We Fight, which covered essentially the same material. However, the film was less focused on the Bush administration and the current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and thus came across as more even-handed. (The hyperbolic litany of Bush's Crimes Against God, Nature and Humanity in the book's "Shock and Awe at Home" chapter often reads more like a blogger's rant than a serious work of nonfiction.) Even if one doesn't take the time to read the book, the film is a must-see. Both present facts and ideas that every American, and anyone who wants to understand how and why the the U.S. behaves as it does on the world stage, should consider.

This book is different than I thought it would be. This book takes you through the history of the Military Industrial Complex starting during and after World War II and on through the current situation in Iraq. Jarecki takes the reader through the past 60 years of the MIC and creates real interest in what has gone before and where we find ourselves today. The dangerous increase in power that has come to the Executive branch of the US Government is nothing new, it has simply been brought to new heights with the latest 'regime'.

This is an excellent and easy to read book. The author keeps the subject interesting and puts everything in superb perspective.

The American Way of War presents a profoundly sobering account of the power of the military industrial complex in the US government and a detailed and truly engaging description of how it creates and then compels policy decisions. The author's focus is, primarily, the stages leading to the second Iraq War. His writing is clear, substantive, fully referenced, and compelling. It is, ultimately, a very sobering experience reading this volume, because it presents policy creating conditions in the United States as beyond the reach of democratic government. The military industrial complex is the vast shadow government. Its influence is so great that our elected representatives are, essentially hamstrung, to reduce its power and control of key military decision making.
Why not five start? It might be a quibble, but I would have liked to have seem a little more history and somewhat less focus on relatively recent developments in Iraq.Liberation from the Lie: Cutting the Roots of Fear Once and for All

There isn't a great deal of "new" information here (Jarecki claims a scoop by saying that Colin Powell was fired, and that Dick Cheney really wields the power), but there IS a LOT of solid information for newcomers to the subject. Unfortunately, I think he could have used a better editor - the material doesn't flow very well, and the uninitiated may be overwhelmed if their worldview is more "Norman Rockwell" than "Francis Bacon". He jumps from the first bombs on Baghdad to the pre-Pearl Harbor McCollum memo and Roosevelt's possible knowledge and motivations with relationship to the Japanese attack. On to the 1947 National Security Act, then it's back to PNAC and the neocons, and a change of course to an interview with Dwight Eisenhower's son and Smdley Butler's "War Is A Racket". Some difficult transitions there.

That said, he makes a persuasive and generally fairly rant-free case that the military-industrial complex has developed to such an extent that the very foundation of government, the separation of powers, has been badly distorted, and not just by the current Administration. Of course, a single book couldn't possibly trace ALL of the circumstances that have lead to our present sorry Imperial state, but this is an excellent starting point.

This book was fascinating, well cited and of interest to Americans of all political bents. I never thought I would find such an appreciation for military history This is a vital book for reviving our democracy and understanding the threats to it.

This is a very good book that goes well beyond the documentary film made by the author of this book. It explores how the American political system has increasingly become intertwined with military interests. As a result, the needs and desires of the military industry has come to drive American foreign policy to an unjustifiable degree.

The tragedy of this is that it undermines the founding principles upon which the nation was established. Virtually all of the founders, with the notable exception of Hamilton, envisioned a nation not ruled and controlled by military interests. Like in the Roman Republic that the Founders so admired (both John Adams and Thomas Jefferson both highly esteemed them -- both admired Machiavelli, not for what is today his most famous work, THE PRINCE, but for his DISCOURSES, which dealt with the ideals of republicanism), they hoped for a nation built upon ideals of civic responsibility rather than the martial virtues. One of the many points of contention between the Republicans led by Jefferson (the Republican party later transformed into the modern Democratic party) and Hamilton's wing of the Federalist party was the role of the military in the national life. Hamilton envisioned a great standing army and the achievement of national ends through militaristic means. Jefferson, on the other hand, was opposed to the building of a navy, even when national needs dictated their its necessity.

Today, however, the danger that Eisenhower foresaw, the nation enthrall to a military industry that has taken on a life of its own, forcing government to structure foreign policy around its needs.

What breaks my heart is that by cutting dramatically on military spending -- and given the complete lack of state powers that act as enemies in the current alignment of nations there is no reason why we shouldn't -- we could easily afford health care and energy reform, put social security on firm footing, and even establish a national pension. Why can't we? Because Eisenhower's military-industrial complex dominates our thinking about our priorities as a nation.

Even with the election of Obama and the establishment in many ways of new national goals, this new set of national priorities that have been in place since World War II is likely to undermine national interests by forcing us to further our policies by militaristic means.

I'm not certain that we are ready as a nation to really embrace change in the role of "the military-industrial complex" in national life. But we need more voices like Jarecki's explaining how things have gone so wrong.

This book is more to my dad's liking but I picked it because I wanted to understand more of the history behind war and behind the American version of warfare. This book is geared towards the more serious students of history and definitely for someone who has a little bit more time on their hands to read this book because it is not an easy reading (it wasn't for me) but it is well worth the time spent to read this book from the beginning to the end.

I don't know much about the U.S. military history and this book is enlightening in that respect. I know who Eisenhower is as well as the major players in this current administration, but I didn't know about the behind-the-scenes until Jarecki revealed it in this book. Whether this book is unbiased remains to be seen as I am not the best judge on this issue. Is it readable? Yes, but it was confusing for me because of my lack of history. Is it informative? Yes. I learned more than I thought possible just from reading it. Now I plan to look for his films and watch it with my husband one of these days.

The conclusion is the most interesting part for me since it shares more of the author's struggles and hard-earned recognition for his movie "Why We Fight." It is surprising to me to learn that among the West Point cadets that "critical thinking is not insuborination." (Page 284) I have always assumed that it was the other way around. Interesting. I keep finding tidbits like this throughout the entire book. That's what makes it informative and interesting for me since I am new to military history.

I wish I could write a better review than this one but the other reviewers in here are saying it much better than I am. It is definitely a worth-while read.

11/19/08