Dreaming War: Blood for Oil and the Cheney-Bush Junta (Paperback)

~ (Author) "The Vice President to Richard Nixon and bribe-taker to many, Spiro Agnew, was once inspired to say, "The United States, for all its faults, is..." (more)
Key Phrases: national security state, United States, New York, Pearl Harbor (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Long before the events of September 11, Vidal's place was secured as a prolific preacher against America's imperialist policies. At age 76, he uses his exceptional talents to produce bound collections of his controversial essays and op-eds. However, this latest creation lacks the eloquence and grace that previously distinguished him from other writers in their attempts to uncover the hidden truths within our American republic. Vidal calls for a more thorough investigation into the response, or lack thereof, from the "Cheney-Bush junta" on September 11 and purports that corporate greed and American imperialism have been the driving themes behind our new war on terror. He explores the oil connections that Osama bin Laden's family established with Bush during his tenure as an oil magnate in Texas and implores us to probe further into America's real interest in conquering Afghanistan. According to Vidal, America's media elite perform the government's dirty work by spreading disinformation-including about Vidal himself-to the general public. As a result, Vidal spends much of this book refuting attacks from the mainstream media that portray him as anti-American, although his unabashed style gives readers final say in drawing their own conclusion. Regardless, faithful fans of Vidal will revel in his relentless adoration of Jeffersonian ideals and courageous dissection of the evil roots of American foreign policy.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

We've all heard 9/11 compared to Pearl Harbor, but in one of the essays in this provocative and thoughtful collection, America's great literary dissenter finds deeper links. Both were seemingly inexplicable surprise attacks, but, Vidal argues, the "Cheney/Bush" (in that order, he assures us) "junta" knew 9/11 was coming as surely as FDR knew the Japanese would attack American interests in the Pacific. And just as Pearl Harbor got America into World War II, Cheney and Bush gleefully used 9/11 to begin a long war against enemies who just so happen to live amidst the oil reserves coveted by our executive branch (themselves former oil barons). Vidal backs his argument up with a stunning array of evidence culled from books, scholarly articles, and even the popular media he so despises. The essays on the so-called junta are, in and of themselves, worth the price of admission, but also included here are 10 Vidal articles published over the last decade, which discuss how, in the wake of World War II, America completely abandoned its republic for an imperial police state engaged in perpetual war. Vidal's talent for invigorating his polemics with lively prose and fierce wit (he describes Spiro Agnew as "Vice President to Richard Nixon and bribe-taker to many") shines throughout, and though some of the essays are dated, Vidalian vitriol never seems to go out of style. John Green
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Paperback: 197 pages
• Publisher: Nation Books (January 5, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1560255021
• ISBN-13: 978-1560255024
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 4.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (77 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #438,747 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

147 of 167 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Jeffersonian Voice of the People--Not Wearing Blinders, January 23, 2003

By	Robert D. Steele (Oakton, VA United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)

Gore Vidal speaks truth bluntly and clearly. He addresses points that need to be addresses by every voter, for the people of America are losing their birthrights--their freedoms, their power over their own fate, their control of the resources of the nation that have been--quite literally--hijacked by a mandarin wealthy elite that would sooner cut deals with terrorists and their oil-field sponsors, than look after the best interests of the American public.

Interestingly, this book emphasizes something I had not considered that bears emphasis: although there were numerous intelligence failures in detail, Vidal suggests that the Director of Central Intelligence is correct when he claims that 9-11 was not (at root) an intelligence failure--but then leaves unsaid what Vidal says explicitly: it was a policy failure in that Bush-Cheney decided not to alarm the people and not to share the warning information, in part to avoid turbulence and in part because such an attack would be welcome--as Pearl Harbor was welcome--as a means to remilitarize foreign policy.

Indeed, Vidal focuses relentless on the fact that all of the terrorist planes were allowed to run their course, without being intercepted and shot down by any of the military aircraft in the area. Although it would have taken a "strip alert" aircraft to be really effective, and it may not have been possible to load and launch aircraft on standby status in a hanger, it does appear that both the civilian and military chains of command avoided any active efforts to stop the airplanes from hitting their intended targets.

There are some extraordinary truths in this book that bear public discussion during the forthcoming Presidential campaign. I list just a few:

1) It is the US, in its obsessive anti-communism (perhaps aided by the desire of those in power to accummulate wealth and extend their power) which really kicked off the Cold War and were willing to support any dictator, commit any crime, violate any oath, in pursuit of anti-communism. The number of US attacks within an *undeclared* war status is over 250--and this does not count the secret bombing runs into the Soviet Union in the early years when we were just testing their vulnerability.

2) Japan was trying to sue for peace, and the US not only refused to receive their emissaries, but chose to drop the atomic bombs (two of them) to intimate the Russians rather than finalize the Japanese. He also addresses measures the US undertook to force the Japanese to attack Pearl Harbor.

3) Vidal talks about the number of covert wars that have been fought using taxpayer dollars, but without the knowledge or the approval of the taxpayer-voter. This is really a vital point--the people, and their elected representatives in Congress, have lost both the power of the purse and the power over war.

3) Coming further forward, Vidal addresses some stark truths about the current American condition that include the incredible percentage of the population that is either in prison or on parole; the continuing abuse of black citizens, especially in Florida; the continuing censorship of the media in relation to the interests of its advertisers--to include the deceptive and manipulated findings of the polls sponsored by the media; the erosion of individual rights; and the continuing gutting of the US economy by the combined emphasis on arms sales (including to ourselves) and cheap oil that the elite managers of the commonwealth persist in pursuing.

Vidal ends with two notes: first, that a Constitutional Convention, demanded by the people, would allow a complete overhaul of the system--once "we the people" are assembled, they have all the power and can recast the system as they wish--what an exciting idea; and second, that the logical direction for a free people is toward a Swiss like confederation of cantons or city-states (or, as Joel Garreau suggested, "Nine Nations of North America").

In my view, Vidal stands alone, with Chomsky, in terms of speaking truth to power. Others, like Joe Nye, Jeffrey Garten, Max Manwaring, and Howard Rheingold dance around the issues of policy, credibility, and survivability in capable ways, but Vidal cuts to the heart of the matter: do the people wish to think for themselves and take back the power, or cower as slaves in the gutter? This is very refreshing reading.

53 of 60 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Obvious Observations About September 11, July 15, 2003

By	Michael K. McKeon (Seattle, WA United States) - See all my reviews

Before opening this book it is obvious where Gore is going in this collection of essays. However, for those of us seeking solace as we witness the ongoing depradations of the Bush Administration the few opinions in print that seem to validate our opinions are needed and reassuring.

What I didn't expect in this collection of essays was Vidal's stunning, but intuitively obvious expose of the apparent decision to allow the attacks of September 11. While most complacent, sheep-like Americans will dismiss this as more "radical left conspiracy theory blather", how else can one explain that fact that 4 commercial aircraft were hijacked simultaneously, lost control with air traffic controllers for one half hour and allowed to attack the nation's largest city, and its capital, also simultaneously, without any response from the most powerful military on the planet? To assume Vidal is incorrect would assume that the entire eastern seaboard remained entirely vulnerable to attack prior to September 11. This is hardly likely, and Vidal points out the incentives and historical precedents. That his assertions aren't far fetched is being supported by the Bush Administration's ongoing stonewalling of investigations of the events of September 11.

A few of the essays are revelatory, and have insight and bite. Others are mired in Vidal's pedantic rehashing of WWII, and memories of a fictional, idealistic republic, which he is clearly reflecting upon with rose colored glasses. While America's imperialism and quest for empire have been bold and unattractive for the past 110 years, our history under the "republic" was hardly unblemished with its legacy of slavery, racism, disenfranchisement of women, and extermination of native Americans. One is prompted to observe that hindsight is always 20/20. A number of these essays reveal that Vidal is losing his focus, and waxing nostaglic as he gets older -- his mind, however, remains strong as a beartrap, and his integrity and courage are light years beyond that of most writers.

This collection will rightfully make you cynical, angry, depressed, and frightened. It is important, however, that Vidal's observations not be dismissed -- he is not to be underestimated and far from half baked. The operative question is why haven't, and aren't, more Americans asking the same questions about the attacks of September 11.

139 of 168 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Truth of the Bush Regime, January 15, 2003

By	Karen A. Decoster (Clinton Township, MI USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Let's get this straight from the beginning: Gore Vidal is not anti-American, and in fact, he is a true patriot that loves his country enough to ask the difficult questions in the face of the current wave of false patriotism that is taking over since the 9/11 tragedies.

_Dreaming War: Blood for Oil and the Cheney-Bush Junta_ is a bold and maginficent look at the Bushian chronicles leading up to 9/11, and the consequences thereafter. Two things that are important to dwell on: Both the attack on Afghanistan and the Patriot Act were well entrenched and ready to go before 9/11 ever came about. 9/11 was merely an open door to the growth of State meddling in the lives of U.S. citizens.

Vidal looks at all the "interests" that are served by Bushian Imperial ambitions. As Vidal says, Osama is merely a poster boy for greater U.S. interestes, that being Empire, oil, and the corporatist State. Gore gives us decades worth of examples on how the U.S has come to this position.

Perhaps the one thing that is missing is an in-depth analysis of why the State loved that 9/11 happened, and how it keeps that from the American people while shedding its false tears of sorrow, and suckering folks into buying the State moral code concerning the tragedies.

Vidal's essays are compelling, truthful, and unapologetic. A fantastic read.