Imperial America: The Bush Assault on the World Order [Hardcover]

John Newhouse (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 16, 2003

Russell Mead, New York Times Book Review) comes a timely and important account of the Bush administration’s squandered foreign-policy opportunities–what it did and did not do during the run-up to the war in Iraq. John Newhouse describes the ways in which America’s relationship with much of the world went wrong after the events of September 11, 2001, the moment when most nations were ready to accept U.S. leadership in a war against terrorism. Newhouse poses important questions: Why didn’t the Bush administration exploit this rare opportunity to stabilize the Middle East, and Southwest and Northeast Asia? How have the administration’s truculent behavior, misguided actions, and inaction at critical moments undermined efforts to curb the production of weapons of mass destruction? Why have Bush and his cabinet laid down edicts that have served chiefly to upset and sharpen the insecurities of other nations, including some of our allies?

Newhouse discusses the reasons why Pakistan is probably the most dangerous country in the world. He devotes attention to the threats posed by Iran and North Korea, and the administration’s bungled, dangerously inept attention to them. Woven through with illuminating anecdotes and vivid portraits of the players–Bush, Rumsfeld, Cheney, Powell, Blair, Chirac, Putin, and others–Imperial America is a brilliantly clear, timely, and powerfully thought-provoking exposé of recent American foreign policy: how it has been made and perilously mishandled.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Newhouse, a respected foreign correspondent and former government official, offers a thoughtful look at the lost opportunities of foreign policy from 9/11 through the start of the war in Iraq. In the immediate aftermath of 9/11, the Bush administration could have pushed Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization into serious negotiations, improved relations with strategically located Iran, and begun negotiations with North Korea regarding its nuclear weapons program. Though Bush rightly identified the connection between unconventional weapons and terrorism, his diplomatic failures hurt efforts to curb the use of weapons of mass destruction. Talk of "axis of evil" and "regime change" has contributed to the view that the U.S. approach was unilateral and indifferent to the interests of other nations. Newhouse explores the relationship between foreign and domestic policy--Bush is the first U.S. president to declare a first-strike war and, instead of asking for sacrifice, pushed for more tax cuts. He also explores the dynamics between the administration and Congress, relationships among Bush advisors, and dealings between the Bush administration and foreign leaders. Vanessa Bush
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

“What distinguishes Imperial America by John Newhouse from so many other books on a similar theme is the elegance of the prose and the acuity of the argument. . . . There’s fresh material on political changes in Iran, the threat posed by North Korea, and Washington’s apparently boundless enthusiasm for Ariel Sharon’s vision of the Middle East.” –Los Angeles Times Book Review

“This useful book is packed with compelling little details showing just how many wise and experienced people warned others at one time or another that Iraqi regime change was needless at best, dangerous at worst. . . . persuasive and thorough.”--The Washington Post Book World

“A well-timed and elegantly written reminder of the international dynamics that were in play long before Sept. 11, 2001, and will require diplomats’ attention long after American infantrymen leave Iraq. . . . [An] admirable study.” –The New York Times Book Review

“Newhouse is worth listening to. . . . His experience in government on arms control and European issues has taught him much about how government works.” --The Economist




From the Trade Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: Knopf; 1 edition (September 16, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0375414010
• ISBN-13: 978-0375414015
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,107,259 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book criticizing Bush foreign policy, October 31, 2003

By 

Gaetan Lion - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Imperial America: The Bush Assault on the World Order (Hardcover)

This is an excellent book criticizing Bush foreign policy. It includes excellent profiles of Bush, Rumsfeld, Cheney, and Powell. It captures excellent geopolitical analysis of Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, and North Korea. It also covers the impact of the neo conservatives policies.

Colin Powell, Secretary of State, is the only one earning the author respect. Powell is a balanced, thoughtful, intelligent, and patient centrist. He has exceptional knowledge on issues. He is the most popular Secretary of State we ever had. Because he is isolated within a conservative administration, Powell has not been able to fulfill his potential. On most issues, he is at the loosing end, while being usually right.

Dick Cheney, Vice President, is the most powerful Vice President, the U.S. ever had. He is very intelligent, and domineering. He is an harsh conservative. He operates through confidential communication with the President that no one else is privy too. As a result, his intent is almost impossible to overcome.

Donald Rumsfeld, Secretary of Defense, is the opposite of Powell. He is loud, impatient, arrogant, and constantly overreaches on issues. The gap between the State Department and the Defense Department has never been wider. The Defense Department has preempted the State Department on foreign policies resulting in a radical shift to the right. Rumsfeld is very intelligent and cunning. This makes him a formidable nemesis for Powell.

The author is most critical of Bush. He knows little about foreign affairs. He is not intellectually curious. He has less knowledge of history than most other presidents. Regarding the Israel-Palestinian conflict, an official mentioned that "he does not have the knowledge or the patience to learn this issue enough to have an end destination in mind."

The Iraqi invasion was ill advised. Iraq has little to do with terrorism. Hussein and Islamic terrorist networks had diverging objectives. Iraq did not possess weapons of mass destruction. Between 1991 and 1998, UN inspectors destroyed Iraqis nukes. But, the Administration became obsessed with regime change. Yet, the Administration lacks the necessary planning, and commitment of time and money the regime change entails. After WWII, the occupation of Japan lasted seven years, and Germany ten years. These societies were far less fractious than Iraq. It could take over 10 years to stabilize Iraq. Lawrence Lindsay, Bush first Economic Advisor, stated the cost of the Iraqi regime change will be $100 to $200 billion. After this statement, he was ousted. His estimate may be too low.

For the author, Iran represents the best hope of stabilizing the volatile Middle East. Iran has its own history and natural borders (not fabricated by the West). It has free election, and rising pro Western reformers. The Bush administration should support Iran undergo its internal transformation. Instead, he notes that Bush has made Iran a member of the "Axis of Evil." Bush frequent reference to this "Axis of Evil" has strengthened Iran hardliners. Bush aggressive attitude towards Iran contributes to further destabilizing the region. Rumsfeld is also bent on confronting Iran militarily. Thus, relationship with Iran has fallen apart. However, Iran is associated with serious policy issues that even a Democratic President could not ignore. These include Irans ongoing nuclear program that is being supported directly by Russia. Also, Iran supports financially several terrorist groups aiming their terror towards Israel. These include the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Hamas, and Hizbollah.

Pakistan is the most dangerous country; yet, it is an ally. The author convincingly suggests that the Bush administration often has it wrong in selecting allies and foes. The Pakistan India border is the most volatile region in the World. Twice in the 12 months after 9/11, the two countries threatened to go to war. This is a frightening thought considering the nuclear arsenal these countries have on both side of the Kashmir. Despite General Musharraf stand against the Taliban and al-Qaeda, his army provides terrorist groups with training camps and weapons. Two provinces are controlled by Taliban and al Qaeda sympathizers. Pakistan madrassas schools are breeding grounds of Islamic terrorists. Pakistan and North Korea have exchanged complimentary components of their respective nuclear technology. Thus, Pakistan is a powder keg. It should not be treated as an ally.

North Korea is a bankrupt country relying on foreign aid for its survival. Russia has assisted its nuclear program development. North Korea has sold nuclear technology to Iran and Pakistan. This is the only export it has. Their nuclear program is advanced, as they have tested a missile with a range of over 1,000 miles that flew over Japan. The government has attempted to negotiate a nonadversarial "Agreed Framework" with the U.S. for a decade. Clinton had done great progress on this issue. But, Bush interrupted all related negotiations. And, his "Axis of Evil" speeches have halted any diplomatic development. As a result, the North Koreans have developed their nuclear program more urgently.

In the authors view, the neo conservatives unilateral policies have destabilized the World Order. The European Union is more fragmented and Anti-American. Both the UN and NATO are ailing. Actual attention to terrorism has suffered due to the obsession with regime change with the Axis of Evil states. As expressed before, such foreign policies will do little in reducing terrorism.

17 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Sleepwalking into disaster, September 27, 2003

By 

Theodore A. Rushton (PHOENIX, Arizona United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Imperial America: The Bush Assault on the World Order (Hardcover)

"Bush and the kindred spirits who advise him are not impressed by history," John Newhouse sums up at the end of this book, which explains why the Bush administration has turned much of the world against the United States.

It nicely sums up the policies of the radical right, which now controls the presidency and federal government. When you treat those who differ from you with insult and contempt, instead of listening and debate, it's hardly surprising they are not your biggest fans when you need help. In late September, President George Bush went hat-in-hand to the United Nations begging for aid to help rebuild the facilities destroyed by American and British bombs in Iraq. Not surprisingly, having advised Bush not to destroy Iraq in the first place, UN members had little respect and support for Bush's plea for help.

It's an incredible story. On the day after Sept. 11, 2001, the French newspaper 'Le Monde' declared in its main headline "We are all Americans." It was a widely shared attitude not only in France, but in Canada, Mexico and most of the world. Newhouse shows how it took the zealots of the Bush administration, and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld in particular, less than two years to generate anti-American feelings through most of the world.

The blunt reality is that America needs friends, supporters and allies. To cite one example: the Bush administration has turned the Clinton budget surplus into the most massive federal deficits in history, now growing by about $ 1.5 billion per day. As the war on Iraq showed, about 75 percent of the money to finance the deficit comes from overseas. If you think foreign opinion doesn't matter, try running the country without the foreign "opinion" that now pours into the United States treasury.

In incident after incident, detail after detail, Newhouse shows how the insensitivity and crassness of Rumseld and a few other Bush zealots is leading the United States to a new and absolute isolationism. Iran is one example, a country facing as much danger from Arab fundamentalism as any nation and eager, after 9/11, to join the United States in rooting out the terrorists on its soil.

Instead of cooperation, of which Iran had much to offer of great benefit to the US, Bush labeled Iran as part of the "axis of evil." It was a great sound bite for Bush's State of the Union speech, it got a lot of attention, and it utterly destroyed any chance of Iran providing major intelligence to the US to combat terrorism.

Pakistan, in contrast, which actively supports the Taliban and al Qaeda, is still one of Bush's allies. It makes one wonder whose side Bush is on.

There's little new or surprising in this book for anyone who's followed the news for the past couple of years. Instead, Newhouse does a masterful job of making sense of the radical transformation of American foreign policy that is now underway. It's a wonderful compilation for the isolationists, who want to see America as aloof from the world as Cuba and North Korea. Sadly, these isolationists are not impressed enough by history to know what happened because of American isolationism after World War I and after World War II until the Marshall Plan took effect. They will love the successes outlined in this book.

For anyone who is impressed by history, it shows how Americans are sleepwalking into a history filled with terror, disaster and decline.

19 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This explains why the USA is no longer as loved as before, October 19, 2003

By 

C. Catherwood "writer" (Cambridge UK and Richmond VA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Imperial America: The Bush Assault on the World Order (Hardcover)

As a Briton married to an American, and who is deemed an Honorary Virginian by marriage, I love the USA! But sad to say, I am in an increasing minority over in Europe where I spend much of the year. Yet after 9/11 there were headlines in French newspapers proclaiming "Nous sommes tous Americains". Why did the great and very genuine outpouring of love to the USA after the tragedy of 9/11 vanish into smoke? Why do MORE people hate your wonderful country than ever before? This book gives you the chilling answers: buy it, read it, digest it, give copies to all your friends and then vote accordingly in 2004. You are a great country and deserve to be loved - make sure you elect someone whose priority will be to restore the USA to its rightful place as the most deservedly well-loved of the world's nations. Christopher Catherwood, author of CHRISTIANS, MUSLIMS AND ISLAMIC RAGE (Zondervan, 2003)