Selling Us Wars [Paperback]

Achin Vanaik (Editor), Tariq Ali (Foreword)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1566566681 | ISBN-13: 978-1566566681 | Publication Date: February 2007

The real reasons for the war in Iraq-control of oil pricing and policies, expansion of US power, strategic establishment of US bases in the Middle East, defense of Israel-were kept hidden from the American people. Instead, justifications for the illegal war were cloaked in the high-sounding slogans of "fighting the war on terrorism," "keeping nuclear weapons out of the hands of rogue states," and finally, "bringing democracy to the Middle East."

Selling US Wars is a valuable, information-filled collection of essays by renowned experts from around the world. It examines the excuses for war that were the basis for this period of the US empire drive-nuclear weapons, terrorism, "failed states," drugs, humanitarian intervention, and democracy-and analyzes the pretexts asserted for the US invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as Washington's aggressive policies elsewhere, including in Colombia, Palestine, and Iran. It gets behind the subterfuges to expose how Washington's spin-doctors worked to present its wars as humane, lawful, and necessary to keep Americans safe-and why the campaigns sometimes succeeded.

The book includes an overview of the economics of empire from Walden Bello, director of Focus on the Global South in the Philippines; a piece on the ideology of empire and the rise of the neo-conservative right-wing by legendary writer Susan George in France; an essay by Mike Marqusee in the UK on American exceptionalism and how that phenomenon helped shape US popular acceptance of these "slogans"; and contributions by Tariq Ali, Achin Vanaik, Phyllis Bennis, David Bewley-Taylor, David Sogge, Mariano Aguirre, Martin Jelsma, and Zia Mian.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Tariq Ali is a widely known London-based writer, filmmaker and anti-war agitator. He is the author of Bush in Babylon and Clash of Fundamentalisms.

Product Details

• Paperback: 370 pages
• Publisher: Olive Branch Press (February 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1566566681
• ISBN-13: 978-1566566681
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,240,140 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A powerful indictment should be read, May 26, 2007

By 

L. F Sherman "dikw" (Wiscasset, ME United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Selling Us Wars (Paperback)

An Empire built on hundreds of military bases and intimidation is still an empire. Control without responsibility of governing or providing for the welfare of citizens. Ignorance, arrogance, and spectacular hypocrisy are required. Most Americans are blinded by the rationales of policy; most peoples in exploited areas (and many allies) are not.

Read this series of essays by well known specialists (at last well known outside the US) with an open mind. Policies are seriously flawed while many are blinded by policy rationales these writers see as, with some justification, excuses. More extremism and terror are but part of the reaction of the weak, dishonored, and exploited. Meanwhile hundreds of thousands die to support a way of life characterized by greed, anger, and arrogance which increases vast differences in wealth and unsustainable injustices. (A favorite example versus the myth: US foreign aid is about the lowest proportionally of industrial countries, it is less than some domestic economic subsidies that destroy peoples and economies in other countries and requires many purchases from the US of military goods. The US also gives 10 times as much per capita to Israel as the nearest second, Egypt.)

Key essays are on: the global war on terror (an absurd notion at its roots); weapons of mass destruction; failed states; humanitarian intervention; regime change towards democracy; war on drugs. All provide the basis for autocratic governments profiteering from their piece of `farming' their economies. Many governments simply label opposition as terrorist or extremist (like labeling "communist" years ago) to expunge opposition and democratic elements. But state terrorism is totally ignored by those supporting the self declared "Washington consensus". Extreme injustice can not be sustained forever by brute power. .

Editor"s essays tie things together sucessfully and author Tariq Ali adds his reflections. Some overseas editions are entitled, "Masks of Empire".