Total insecurity : the myth of American omnipotence / Carol Brightman.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Brightman, Carol.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Bush, George W. (George Walker), 1946-.

Bush, George W.

National security--United States--Decision making.

National security.

Imperialism.

United States.

Decision making.

War on Terrorism, 2001-2009.

Iraq War, 2003-2011.

Imperialism--United States.

United States--Foreign relations--2001-2009.

International relations.

Physical Description:

xix, 268 pages ; 22 cm

Place of Publication:

London ; New York : Verso, 2004.

Summary:

Spurred on by the oil barons, the corporate politicians in Washington have set out to play the game of empire alone. One of their first targets is the oil-rich Republic of Iraq. As a brotherhood of investors -- including corporations with close ties to George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, and James Baker -- attempt to turn war-ravaged Iraq into a cash cow, America's unilateral leadership is becoming increasingly problematic. The adventure has provoked a revival of mass dissent in Europe and the Americas and a ferocious resistance inside Iraq. This testcase war to establish total US hegemony over a region of strategic importance to the United States is descending into chaos and violence.

Carol Brightman traces the contours of the latest imperial escapade, contrasting its twists and turns to those of earlier administrations, both Democratic and Republican. She argues that the mix of unchecked power, corporate corruption, and political vulnerability at the top is the most pronounced feature of the Bush regime. She shows how America's obsession with security following September 11, 2001, has prompted a permanent state of war and a permanent war economy, which has been a long time in formation by conservative strategists. She warns of the rise of Iraqi nationalism that US actions have brought about. And she analyzes the US abandonment of international treaties and security arrangements as more countries -- including Iraq in 2000 -- have switched or threaten to switch from dollars to euros for oil trading.

Total Insecurity is a call to arms to the new generation to stand up to this Trojan Horse called the War on Terrorism. In a set of moving personal and historical reflections, Carol Brightman revisits the dissent of the 1960s and '70s and compares it to the protests of today. Incisive, erudite, and fiercely critical, Brightman suggests that it will take more than regime change in Washington to dispel the myths and illusions about unilateral American power.

Contents:

1 Starting Over is Not an Easy Thing to Do 1

2 How it Was 30

3 Securing the Realm 45

4 Making Waves 75

5 Mounting War 99

6 Vietnam Redux 120

7 The Political Economy of Death 165

10 The Consigliere is Back 220.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [243]-257) and index.

ISBN:

1844670104

OCLC:

56504831

Online:

Publisher description