The Ruses for War: American Interventionism Since World War II (Hardcover)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: covert action, alleged assassination plots, news conference, New York Times, United States, Security Council (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Quigley's simplistic purpose here is to determine whether postwar U.S. administrations have been "truthful" regarding military interventions abroad or whether they gave a "distorted picture." He concludes that although they have been successful in convincing Congress and the public not to block (if not support) interventions, our presidents have not always "divulged the truth, at least not the whole truth." Case in point: the 1983 invasion of Grenada was ostensibly lauched to rescue American students, but they were not in danger (nor were those Cuban construction workers a military unit). Quigley argues that fighting communism was the rationale for Washington's expeditionary efforts in Korea and Vietnam, but that the goverment was less interested in keeping the Chinese and Russians at bay than in drawing Korea and Vietnam "into the market-economy sphere." He predicts, predictably, that U.S. administrations will continue "not to be forthright" regarding the reasons for dispatching American troops overseas. Quigley is a law professor at Ohio State University.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

Quigley writes with intellectual fire." -- The Washington Post "Quigley's extensive survey of American policy is a most valuable resource for anyone interested in testing America's foreign policy claims against historical record." - Ludwig von Mises Institute Web site

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 310 pages
• Publisher: Prometheus Books; First Printing edition (September 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0879757671
• ISBN-13: 978-0879757670
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,032,512 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Overview, September 22, 2003

By	R. Schreiber - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

An excellent overview of American worldwide political and military meddling from Rhee's Korea in 1950 to Noriega's Panama in 1989.

The Korean war is covered in some detail in three chapters. Most of the other accounts have only one chapter and include Guatemala '54, Lebanon '58, Dominican Republic '65, Grenada '83 and many others.

Although the operations covered are mainly those which involved the US military to some degree, the book also includes those in which US troops did not play a direct role, such as in Congo in 1964. Additionally, incidents such as the so-called Gulf of Tonkin attack are also discussed.

The book's 37 chapters summarize over 20 historical events.

This is a very good book, and one that contemplates how beneficial American foreign policy could be, if it actually were to be carried out in the nation's interest, instead of a (certain) foreign interest.

I've uploaded a scan of the front cover.
[Last edit: Jan09]

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not new, August 2, 2007

By	Stratiotes Doxha Theon "2 Thes 2:15" (Richmond, Missouri) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Ruses for War: American Interventionism Since World War II (Paperback)

Political leaders who spin webs of deceit in order to whip up a war fever is not a new phenomena nor is it unique to the United States. Nor is the gullibility of citizens and media anything new. It did not begin with the post World War II era nor did it begin with democracy. Mr. Quigley does a fine job of exposing how the cause celebre for war is seldom the only cause. Mixed motivations and rationalizing reasons are a sickness of the human condition in all of us - politicians as well as other citizens. Had Mr. Quigley began with the ancient wars as his starting point, he might have filled volume upon volume of this pattern of deceit and gullibility.

So there is really nothing new in these pages. Instead, Mr. Quigley gives us some examples of how often we went to war in the second half of the 20th century with questionable motivation. He begins with the Korean war and takes us through the intervention in Liberia to provide examples. Despite the undertones of anti-Americanism that one might sense in his style, the facts themselves should give us pause to reflect. If it makes us less gullible the next time politicians begin to spin their web of war fever, it will be of great value. Sadly, too many will react with the nationalistic knee-jerk that refuses to accept any criticism. It is doubtful, therefore, to have much of an impact except with the handful of true liberterians and left-leaning faithful to the message.

Mr. Quigley is an effective communicator. He does, at times, irritate the patriot in us that wishes not to think ill of their leaders. But once in a while a little iodine on the wound is the only thing that will induce healing. It is preferable to be an open-eyed patriot than a blind nationalist.

8 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars If you must read, read with a critical eye, January 24, 2002

By	"buckeye0562" (St. Louis, MO United States) - See all my reviews

I have only read parts of this book; however, it does not surprise me that Professor Quigley is the author.

He is hardly an objective observer/academic when it comes to his feelings about the foreign policies of Western Democracies. Throughout his academic career, he has promoted the hardcore pro-Soviet, pro-Third World viewpoint for every topic he has addressed. He is known as a virulently anti-West, anti-Israel, anti-U.S. Gov't academic. I am not saying that his work is automatically disqualified for this reason; any work deserves an independent assessment. However, the facts he presents and conclusions he draws should be read with a critical eye given his past record.