Ending the War in Iraq (Paperback)

~ Tom Hayden (Author)
Key Phrases: New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

As a leading antiwar figure in the 1960s, Hayden wrote extensively on Vietnam and was one of the small number of Americans engaged in dialogue with both sides during the Paris peace talks. As an Irish-American, he spent ten years supporting and writing about the peace process leading up the Good Friday Agreement. As a California legislator, he devoted himself to writing about and trying to prevent inner-city violence. Hayden remains a stalwart antiwar activist and is credited with initiating 2005 Congressional exit-strategy hearings on Iraq. This urgent book comes from a patient understanding of the nature of conflict resolution.

Hayden argues that the Iraq War will end by applying public pressure against the pillars of the Bush Administration's foreign policy. A new kind of antiwar movement, delineated in this groundbreaking work, can help turn the tide of public opinion against the current conflict. For the first time in American history, he writes, an American majority voted against a war in progress in November 2006. This is a book for millions of peace activists, for an undecided public, and for the 2008 presidential candidates as well.

About the Author

Tom Hayden was a founding member of the Students for a Democratic Society and author of its visionary call, the Port Huron Statement, described by Howard Zinn as "one of those historic documents which represents an era." He was also one of the famous "Chicago Eight" protesters during the 1968 Democratic Convention. He was elected to the California State Assembly in 1982, and to the State Senate ten years later, serving 18 years in all.

Product Details

• Paperback: 250 pages
• Publisher: Akashic Books (June 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1933354453
• ISBN-13: 978-1933354453
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 0.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,041,271 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Useful arguments for ending the war on Iraq, December 10, 2007

By	William Podmore (London United Kingdom) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This is one of the most useful books on the struggle for peace. Tom Hayden, a veteran of the anti-war movement in the 1960s and 1970s, draws lessons from the experience of opposing and helping to end the US war of aggression against Vietnam.

He aims to apply public pressure to erode the eight pillars sustaining the war on Iraq: a stable ally in the form of an Iraqi government, sufficient public support in the USA, compliant American media, strong political support from the US Congress, an adequate supply of US troops and recruits, ample budgetary resources over a decade-long period, a moral reputation drawing respect at home and abroad, and a network of international alliances.

He points out that Iraqi support for the resistance has risen steadily since 2003. 78% of the Iraqi people oppose the occupation. 70% want a timetable for the US troops to leave, as do 60% of the US public and 72% of the US troops serving in Iraq. Hayden sums up that Iraqi resistance to the occupation is `permanent and undefeatable'.

The US and British occupation forces use divide and rule, backing Shia Muslims and Kurds against Sunni Muslims. The Interior Ministry is virtually all Shia. The occupation forces use dirty tricks, death squads and mercenaries. As Vice President Dick Cheney said, "we also have to work ... on the dark side ... in the shadows ... without any discussion."

The USAF carries out hundreds of air-strikes every month, but when did you last see any TV footage of bombing? As neocon Robert Kaplan said, "We can dominate the world only quietly: off camera, so to speak."

By January 2007, US casualties, including wounded, in Iraq and Afghanistan, were 50,508. Also, 770 private security forces personnel had been killed in Iraq by the end of 2006.

The war is hugely unpopular. 90% of the American people oppose cutting health or education spending to pay for it. In November 2006, the majority of the American people voted against a war in progress, for the first time ever, deposing the Republican Congressional majority. We must continue to press for the occupation troops to leave.

0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars The book was a rip off., November 12, 2008

By	Bruce Bratton "scribler37" (Santa Cruz, CA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Book was stamped from cover to cover and on binding with library markings. It appeared stolen. Couldn't read it in public. Author and I laughed at it on my radio program, it was a joke and the worst experience with Amazon I've ever had.