Overcoming the Bush Legacy in Iraq and Afghanistan [Hardcover]

Deepak Tripathi (Author), John Tirman (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 2010

The military adventure that George W. Bush embarked on within months of his inauguration in 2001 was to eclipse everything else in his presidency. His name will forever be synonymous with the “war on terror.” What started as a military response to al Qaeda’s attacks in New York and Washington on 9/11, with the goal of neutralizing al Qaeda and its Taliban hosts in Afghanistan, quickly fused with the neo-conservative agenda to dominate and reshape the Middle East. Al Qaeda’s terrorism was answered by the terror of American military power, which has destroyed or blighted the lives of millions in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Pakistan.

Deepak Tripathi, a former BBC correspondent who has kept a keen eye on the region for more than three decades, identifies systematically the naive calculations, strategic and operational blunders, disregard for history and for other cultures, and even downright prejudice that have brought so much harm to so many. The legacy of Bush’s foreign policy will take years to overcome, Tripathi argues. His war on terror provoked resentment and violent opposition, opened up sectarian divisions, and created Hobbesian conditions of war of all against all. The long-term price tag for America has been estimated at a colossal $3 trillion, but as Tripathi seeks to demonstrate, the overall cost, in human and economic terms, will be incalculable.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Tripathi has done a superb job in addressing the significance of G.W. Bush’s Sept. 11, 2001 declaration of unreserved violence and political imprudence against the world. Tripathi’s successful approach is largely owed to his ability to locate the book within a most suitable historical and intellectual, as opposed to purely political or event-driven context.”

“[This book] gives us a well structured understanding of a seemingly chaotic legacy, and answers many of the innumerable unanswered questions. It is an honest and formidable attempt at understanding one of the darkest periods in the history of America and the world."

“A thoughtful look at the legacy of two increasingly unpopular wars, focusing especially on the human toll.”

"Finally, a pithy critical assessment of the disastrous Bush foreign policy legacy written in a highly readable form that is knowledgeable, persuasive, and best of all forward looking."

“Deepak Tripathi provides a clear-eyed analysis of how George W. Bush’s foreign policy, especially his wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, have made us more vulnerable to terrorism. A must-read for all who wish to reverse the dangerous Bush legacy.”

“Western politicians seem to misunderstand their role--which is to make their society, and the world in general, safer, not simply start wars against those they don’t like. Tripathi collates the facts and demonstrates how the Bush administration spent vast sums of money making our world far more dangerous. This story is critically important because we cannot learn from history if we do not know what that history is.”

“This is a painful, yet indispensable read for people of conscience throughout the world. Tripathi’s book comes second to none in terms of narrating perhaps one of the darkest eras in U.S. history with reason and candor. A fantastic book—the kind that you would read . . . and then want to read again.”

About the Author

DEEPAK TRIPATHI, PhD, FRHistS, is a British historian and former journalist whose career (1974–2000) was spent primarily with the BBC, where he was a correspondent, editor, and commentator. In the early 1990s, Tripathi set up the BBC bureau in Kabul and was the resident correspondent in Afghanistan. He has also reported from Syria, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and India. He is the author of Overcoming the Bush Legacy in Iraq and Afghanistan and Breeding Ground: Afghanistan and the Origins of Islamist Terrorism. Tripathi received his PhD from the University of Roehampton, where he is an honorary research fellow. He lives near London.

John Tirman is the executive director of the MIT Center for International Studies.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 200 pages
• Publisher: Potomac Books Inc.; 1 edition (March 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1597975036
• ISBN-13: 978-1597975032
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.8 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,139,888 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

DEEPAK TRIPATHI, PhD, FRHistS, FRAS, is a British historian of the Cold War, the Middle East, South Asia, the United States in the world, nuclear weapons, proliferation and disarmament. He is an honorary research fellow at the University of Roehampton in London, and serves on the Global Advisory Board and the Research Team of Human Dignity & Humiliation Studies, a network of scholars and practitioners. He is the author of a trilogy that includes "Imperial Designs: War, Humiliation and the Making of History" (2013), "Breeding Ground: Afghanistan and the Origins of Islamist Terrorism" (2011) and "Overcoming the Bush Legacy in Iraq and Afghanistan" (2010), published with the Potomac Books imprint of the University of Nebraska Press. Earlier, Tripathi spent his long career as a journalist (1974-2000), primarily in the BBC, where he was a correspondent, commentator and editor. He set up the BBC bureau in Kabul in the early 1990s and was the corporation's resident correspondent in Afghanistan. He also reported from Pakistan, Syria, Sri Lanka and India.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The True Picture May 24, 2010

By Wilfred Cude

Format:Hardcover

Now that Karl Rove and Dick Cheney attempt to re-write the history of their own appalling misadventures, this book is most opportune. Concise, precise, lucid and ultimately quite compelling, Overcoming the Bush Legacy delineates the harsh facts we must face and the ugly situations we must remedy. In brief, the administration of George W. Bush has been a catastrophe without parallel in modern times, and addressing that catastrophe is a matter of daunting complexity. The strike at Afghanistan was intended to eliminate Bin Laden, oust the Taliban and install a democracy in that unhappy country. Today, Bin Laden lives, the nominally democratic government is unspeakably corrupt, the Taliban dominates much of Afghanistan and Pakistan, and has even struck back at New York City. The assault on Iraq was intended to neutralize weapons of mass destruction, remove Saddam Hussein and install a democracy in that unhappy country. Today, Hussein's death was purchased at the cost of a trillion American dollars, the death of thousands of coalition soldiers, the maiming of tens of thousands more, the death or maiming of hundreds of thousands of Iraqi citizens, the dispersal internally or internationally of millions more, the installation of a dysfunctional government, the reduction of an entire economic infrastructure to ruins, and continued unchecked murderous violence. And those WMD never existed. Far worse even than the aftermath of Vietnam, the current mess leaves the United States crippled militarily, economically and politically, its international reputation sullied and in tatters. Mr. Tripathi adroitly threads through the subtle tangles of misconception that produced this sad outcome, and he points the way to the far more difficult diplomatic maneuvers that constitute the only viable hope of improvement.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars What's in the daily noose! June 27, 2010

By Vagn Asbjorn Hansen

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

Sadly this book contributes no information that avid news readers have not accumulated, not does it put any tantalising questionmarks on what main stream news services try to convince us it the truth because told so often. It would be a well planned update for somebody who has slept 10 years.
As for overcoming the legacy there is no advice and no quantifying the hurt US has done to millions of people. They are still awaiting compensation. Obama could try paying up to victims in Iraq - then there would be at least one High Street (Mustansir Street I suppose) to help refloat the global econonomy.

Vagn Asbjřrn Hansen (France)