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The Sorrows of Empire: Militarism, Secrecy, and the End of the Republic (The American Empire Project) Paperback – January 6, 2005
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From the author of the prophetic national bestseller Blowback, a startling look at militarism, American style, and its consequences abroad and at home
In the years after the Soviet Union imploded, the United States was described first as the globe's "lone superpower," then as a "reluctant sheriff," next as the "indispensable nation," and now, in the wake of 9/11, as a "New Rome." Here, Chalmers Johnson thoroughly explores the new militarism that is transforming America and compelling its people to pick up the burden of empire.
Reminding us of the classic warnings against militarism―from George Washington's farewell address to Dwight Eisenhower's denunciation of the military-industrial complex―Johnson uncovers its roots deep in our past. Turning to the present, he maps America's expanding empire of military bases and the vast web of services that supports them. He offers a vivid look at the new caste of professional warriors who have infiltrated multiple branches of government, who classify as "secret" everything they do, and for whom the manipulation of the military budget is of vital interest.
Among Johnson's provocative conclusions is that American militarism is putting an end to the age of globalization and bankrupting the United States, even as it creates the conditions for a new century of virulent blowback. The Sorrows of Empire suggests that the former American republic has already crossed its Rubicon―with the Pentagon leading the way.
- Print length400 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- Publication dateJanuary 6, 2005
- Dimensions5.5 x 0.89 x 8.5 inches
- ISBN-100805077979
- ISBN-13978-0805077971
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Editorial Reviews
Review
“Chilling . . . a frightening picture . . . of the spread of American military and economic control over the world.” ―The New York Times Book Review
“Original and genuinely important . . . The role of the prophet is an honorable one. In Chalmers Johnson the American empire has found its Jeremiah. He deserves to be heard.” ―The Washington Post Book World
“Trenchantly argued, comprehensively documented, grimly eloquent . . . Worthy of the republic it seeks to defend.” ―The Boston Globe
About the Author
Chalmers Johnson, president of the Japan Policy Research Institute, is the author of the bestselling books Blowback, The Sorrows of Empire, and Nemesis, which make up his Blowback Trilogy. He has written for the Los Angeles Times, the London Review of Books, Harper's Magazine, The Nation, and TomDispatch.com.
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- The 725 U.S. military bases acknowledged by the Department of Defense do not include the many used for communications espionage, control of the world's oil supply, or those that are simply too embarrassing for the government to speak about openly (such as the fourteen permanent bases being built in Iraq).
- The United States maintains about 347,000
soldiers, airmen, and marines at military bases in 140 of 189 member states of the United Nations.
- The American military budget is so large that the next-highest military budget in the world-
Russia's-is only fourteen percent of our own.
- Ninety-three percent of the American budget dedicated to international affairs is allocated to the military and only seven percent to the State Department.
- The Congressional Budget Office projects federal deficits over the next five years of more than $1 trillion, on top of an already existing government debt in February 2003 of $6.4 trillion. Military operations in Iraq so far have cost $143 billion; reconstruction will run from between $50 and $100 billion.
Product details
- Publisher : Metropolitan Books; First Edition (January 6, 2005)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 400 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0805077979
- ISBN-13 : 978-0805077971
- Item Weight : 1.05 pounds
- Dimensions : 5.5 x 0.89 x 8.5 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #354,973 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1,154 in History & Theory of Politics
- #1,462 in U.S. Political Science
- #10,101 in United States History (Books)
- Customer Reviews:
About the author

Chalmers Johnson, president of the Japan Policy Research Institute, is the author of the bestselling Blowback and The Sorrows of Empire. A frequent contributor to the Los Angeles Times, the London Review of Books, and The Nation, he appeared in the 2005 prizewinning documentary film Why We Fight. He lives near San Diego.
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Johnson suggests that US militarism and imperialism (e.g. military bases
throughout the world) will lead to 4 sorrows:
1) perpetual war - leading to more terrorism against Americans wherever
they may be an a growing reliance on WMD among smaller nations as they try
to object to US imperialism
2) Loss of democracy and constitutional rights as the presidency
skirts Congress and as both are influenced by the Pentagon
3) Truthfulness will increasingly be replaced by a system of propaganda,
disinformation, and glorification of war, power, and the military.
4) Bankruptcy, as we pour our economic resources into every more grandiose
military projects and divert capital from the free market, and shortchange
education, health and safety.
Johnson states that American triumphalists, including Robert Gates, convinced the US public that the demise of the USSR was a great American victory, but the actual collapse of the USSR into the CIS was due to economics (Freidman and Barnett make that same point). The Pentagon, rather than restructuring and demobilizing after their major Cold War enemy folded, has looked for other areas to justify its budgets (e.g. B2 bomber, the Joint Strike Fighter, and nuclear programs). The Pentagon is now involved in the war on drugs, the war on terror, and overt and covert preventive interventions throughout the world. In a change that has nearly been unnoticed, US foreign policy has shifted from civilian control to military policy control, and now the US is acting as a law unto itself, withdrawing from treaties and disparaging international cooperation.
This book was published in 2004, well before the current situation due to the Iraqi war venture could have been predicted, and Johnson's predictions are prescient: he describes the worst case for Iraq as sectarian violence and civil strife.
Johnson makes the case that a revolution in US relations with the 'rest of the world' occurred between 1989 (the fall of the Berlin wall) and 2002. Foreign policy gave way to military expansionism: permanent bases and airfields, espionage listening posts, and strategic enclaves on every continent. This is militarism - because US national security does not depend on this expansion. He states the armed services have put their institutional preservation ahead of national security, and in the first chapter he draws historical parallels with the Roman empire, which fell to barbarians because it couldn't afford to sustain its far-flung outposts.
Johnson states the 4th Amendment should protect the US citizens' right to privacy and prevent unreasonable searches, but that is not the case. He argues the government has systematically been violating our privacy - and this was before the controversy of the Foreign Intel Surveillance Court broke in 2005, before Gen Hayden was appointed to the NSA.
Johnson quotes Jefferson, "that when the government fears the people, there is liberty; when the people fear the government, there is tyranny."
The SoE describes that militarism, going beyond what is needed for national security, damages globalism and international relationships by taking capital resources from the free market forces, reallocating money, talent, and resources to the military which is not responsive to real forces of supply and demand, and which is responsive to crony capitalism and false claims of effectiveness.
Some of Johnson's assertions bear further explanation: e.g. on pg. 287, he cites Immanuel Wallerstein's `world systems theory', but this concept is not described. On pg. 70, he asserts that "Most neocons have their roots on the left, not on the right." I would have liked further explanation of this. Johnson, like Chomsky, is very critical of both Democrats and Republicans - he is describing the systemic forces, larger than politics, that are shaping the future of the US. Certainly many of his assessments are opinions which are quite controversial, but these opinions deserve consideration.
Johnson outlines the United States' imperialistic intentions and its many acquisitions since the 19th century. Most students of history are aware of these early acquisitions, starting with the Spanish American War, and shortly there after, the brutal conquering of the Philippines. These wars were justified with jingoistic rhetoric; at times rationalized in unadulterated propoganda to the American people, and then played down after the colony was established. Johnson goes on to outline the proliferation of militarism throughout the 20th century, particularly since the establishment of NSC 68 after WW2. The problem however, as Johnson points out, is that militarism and the acquisition of foreign lands are becoming less and less justified with euphemistic rhetoric, and are now boldly rendered without the approval of international law and the United States constitution ' as if to say, ''we're going to do it any way, whether you like it or not, because if you disagree, we'll put you on the hit list as well.' In other words, we do it because we can, and you can't stop us. The evidence in this book, in most cases, is irrefutable, because the facts and actions speak for themselves.
A compelling example is the reasons given for the current conquering and occupation of Iraq. The Bush 2 administration defied the United Nations and most of its long-term allies and invaded Iraq, stating they knew best, because the regime had WMD and was ready to unleash them on the 'free' world. There are no weapons of mass destruction, and the administration was told this by expert authorities from the beginning. It has been almost a year since the war began, and nothing has been found. The new party line, then, was a necessary 'regime change' because Hussein was a ruthless dictator and was a potential danger to the region. Granted he was a ruthless dictator, and committed heinous crimes against humanity, but any informed person is aware that countries like Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, which are current 'allies', and play a strategic role in the Middle East, have appalling human rights records and are ruled by quasi dictatorships. Why not impale our moral superiority on them as well? Were we lied to? Johnson writes,
'If so, then it seems that high government officials falsified pretext for the second Iraq war and committed a fraud against the Congress and the American people. In a constitutional republic, these are impeachable offences. The fact that such proceedings have not been mentioned is a further sign of the political decadence brought about by militarism and imperialism.' (P.306)
The trillions of dollars poured into the military-industrial complex in order to maintain close to eight hundred American bases strategically placed around the world cannot last forever. Money is pouring out of the country in the name of 'defence' and nothing of any significance is being done on the domestic front.
In other terms, as usual, the elites are benefiting, while the many are barely keeping up with their rents and paying for food. This is just one issue, but an important one.
In the last chapter of the book, Chalmers asks us to actually take back the reigns of power as the people, and stop the endless supply of money to the Pentagon and the secret intelligence agencies, turning the American economy from a war based one to a peace based economy, thus avoiding another possible 'blowback' like 9/11, and improving the common man's standard of living.
This is an important book and a necessary one to begin positive change away from war towards a lasting peace.
Top reviews from other countries
I couldn't get my head out of the damned book..... until Némésis arrived!









