Making War to Keep Peace [Hardcover]

Jeane J. Kirkpatrick (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 24, 2007

This book is from one of the wisest voices in American politics: a bold new look at America's conflicts overseas since the end of the Cold War - and at the challenges of the future. In her first book in more than fifteen years, Jeane Kirkpatrick - Ronald Reagan's ambassador to the United Nations, and a legend in international relations - offers a bold and revisionist survey of two decades of American foreign policy. Since the end of the Cold War, Kirkpatrick argues, America's relationship with the U.N. has fractured, marred by mutual distrust, competing agendas, and continuing uncertainty over US involvement in conflicts among rogue nations overseas. In "Making War to Keep Peace", Kirkpatrick offers a tightly observed chronicle of the result: a period that has found the United States called upon to use force around the world - to mixed and often challenging results.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“An honest and penetrating analysis.” (Richard V. Allen, former national security advisor )

“unflinching. . . admirers and detractors will appreciate her analysis” (Booklist )

“A brilliant valedictory to a brilliant life and career.” (Dr. Edwin J. Feulner, president of the Heritage Foundation )

“She was unique when alive, and this book establishes that she is still alive.” (William F. Buckley Jr., founder, National Review )

“She has delivered us another historic work with a worldview which, as it was through her life, will be revered.” (Jack Kemp, former U. S. representative and secretary of Housing and Urban Development )

“Kirkpatrick applies her exceptional knowledge of history to an analysis of the new geopolitical situation in the post-Cold War world.” (Edwin Meese III, former United States attorney general )

“With clear and compelling argument, Jeane Kirkpatrick teaches us to be strong but careful in the use of force.” (George P. Shultz, former secretary of state )

“The U.S. would see with greater clarity if more individuals such as Kirkpatrick inhabited the inner circle.” (Richmond Times-Dispatch )

About the Author

Jeane Kirkpatrick was the US Ambassador to the United Nations from 1981 to 1985, and a member of the National Security Council during the Reagan Administration. A senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, she is also the founder of Empower America and a professor of government at Georgetown University.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: Harper; 1 edition (April 24, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 006119543X
• ISBN-13: 978-0061195433
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,042,369 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars brilliant, June 7, 2007

By 

Frank Bunyard (Elk Grove, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Making War to Keep Peace (Hardcover)

Biographical information about Jeane Kirkpatrick is contained in the Editorial Review. She died of heart failure at age 80, just months before this book went to print. Ms. Kirkpatrick had a true and clear mind right to the end.

In this work I expected a "realpolitik" analysis of the power struggles, strategic alliances, competition for resources of the modern global era and how these related to the use of force in certain circumstances. These matters are kept in the background as Ms. Kirkpatrick uses her keen intellect to analyze, and in some instances "expose" that most important of modern international institutions, the United Nations.

She describes the relevance of the U.N. Charter and resolutions as they come into conflict (and occasional concert) with United States' foreign policy doctrines, NATO, and the European Union since the collapse of the Russian empire. Six modern clashes that led to violence are analyzed: The Persian Gulf War, Somalia, Haiti, The Balkan Wars, Kosovo, and in one chapter, Afghanistan and Iraq.

Kirkpatrick's exposition is too complex to condense in this review, but she presents the clearest explanation of the forces at work in the Balkan Wars I've read. The inability of the U.N. to prevent the genocidal Milosevic from slaughtering thousands of innocents in the greatest European horror since the Holocaust is scrutinized and exposed. She also makes a solid case that, during their tenures, United Nations Secretary Generals Boutros-Ghali and Kofi Annan did their utmost to centralize and increase the power of their offices beyond the scope of the original Charter's intention.

Perhaps because her time was running out, Jeane Kirkpatrick was not able to fully engage herself in the current discussion about the Middle East. The book jacket and other advertisements state that Kirkpatrick had "grave reservations" about the war in Iraq. This is sensationalistic exaggeration. She only used this expression one time. In fact she goes to great length to build a legal brief based on the U.N. Charter, resolutions, and the U.S. Constitution to prove that President Bush's decision to go to war with Iraq was absolutely legitimate. She concludes: "Thus, whatever other debates may persists about the war, the contention that it was "illegal" is itself illegitimate."

This book is a brilliant elaboration of the machinations of the modern United Nations, as well as a compendium of modern international conflict.

14 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A useful review, May 16, 2007

By 

P. Braun "pmb14127" (New York) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Making War to Keep Peace (Hardcover)

The late Jeane Kirkpatrick has achieved iconic status within the Republican party, both for her service as Ambassador to the United Nations and as an international pundit. Yet Ambassador Kirkpatrick did not inhabit the margins of the conservative political spectrum being neither a neo-con nor Pat Buchanan style isolationist. The former ambassador was a "realist" who required US foreign policy to be a servant of "vital national interests." This basic belief is utilized in its full power in "Making War to Keep Peace."

The book is meticulously researched. With slightly over 300 pages of primary content, an additional 40 pages of notes are presented. Ambassador Kirkpatrick provided overwhelming detail of the events covered. The time frame begins with President George H. W. Bush (Bush 41) through the presidency of George W. Bush (Bush 43), and covers a number of international (mis)adventures.

If there are any complaints, it would be that Ambassador Kirkpatrick did not provide her opinions on a number of events. For example, she documents fully why Bush 41 held the American forces at the borders of Iraq following the expulsion of the Iraqi armies from Kuwiat. She also notes the desire of General Norman Schwartzkoff to "finish the job" by destroying the Iraqi military and overtaking Baghdad. Yet Ambassador Kirkpatrick withholds her opinion as to which course she would have recommended.

In addition, I believed that occasions when the United States could have acted but didn't, such as the shameful refusal of the Clinton administration to intervene in Rwanda or the Bush 43 ignoring of Darfur, could have been discussed as counterpoint to the occasions, such as Sommalia, when the US did act. It would be interesting to learn of her view why some problems were considered of national interest and others, were not.

All in all, this was a very interesting and usefull review of parts of the United States' foreign policy since 1990. "Making War to Keep Peace" will surely not ever be considered a seminal work, but certainly is a surprisingly balanced and authoritative presentation.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Making War to Keep Peace, July 2, 2007

By 

Robert W. Cardwell Jr. "Politcal fanatic" (Philadelphia PA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Making War to Keep Peace (Hardcover)

A wonderful read from the practical, principled perspective of a true patriot. This book should be required reading for all who seek the office of chief executive of the United States. Jeane Kirpatrick understood full well the stakes of committing a nation to war when necessary to preserve the compelling goal of global peace.