The ruses for war : American interventionism since World War II / John Quigley.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Quigley, John B.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

International relations.

Political participation.

United States--Foreign relations--1945-1989.

United States.

United States--Foreign relations--1989-.

United States--Foreign relations--Citizen participation.

United States--Military policy.

Military policy.

Intervention (International law).

Physical Description:

433 pages ; 23 cm

Edition:

[Second edition].

Place of Publication:

Amherst, N.Y. : Prometheus Books, 2007.

Summary:

As a prelude to war in 2003, the administration of George W. Bush did its utmost to convince the public that Saddam Hussein's secret development of weapons of mass destruction posed a threat to American security. Within a year of the US invasion of Iraq, it became clear that no such weapons existed. Sadly, this was not the first time the American public was urged to support a war for reasons that turned out later to be scarcely credible. As law professor John Quigley amply demonstrates in this damning indictment of US military interventionism since World War II, the Bush administration's actions fit a decades-old pattern of going to war on a pretense rather than informing the public of the government's true intentions. This newly updated and revised paperback edition of The Ruses for War analyzes each instance of US military intervention abroad since World War II from the perspective of what the public was told or not told about it's government's reasons for war. Quigley concludes that the administration's reasons rarely matched the reality on the ground.

Why were American troops committed to Korea in 1950? Was it to stop the onslaught of world communism, as President Truman claimed? Why did the US Marines land in the Dominican Republic in 1966? President Johnson argued that it was to protect Americans in danger. This is the same defense used by President Reagan when he sent troops to Grenada in 1983. But was this the real reason? Quigley also turns his keen critical eye to the stated versus the actual reasons for intervention in the first Gulf War, Somalia, Kosovo, and the current occupation of Iraq. What emerges from his thorough research is a tale of cover-ups, distortions, and manipulation of the media by our country's leaders for the purpose of gaining public support.

Contents:

1 Secrets of Government 17

2 How It Began 21

3 Korea: Whose War? 31

4 Korea: The Russians Are Coming 47

5 Korea: The Chinese Hordes 55

6 Guatemala: Deception and Timing 71

7 Indonesia: Caught in a Coconut Tree 79

8 Lebanon, Irag, and Jordan: Cokes on the Beach 87

9 Cuba: We Were Not Involved 97

10 Laos A Free-Fire Zone 105

11 Vietnam: What Were Those Bleeps? 117

12 The Congo: Trouble Out East 129

13 The Congo: Another Cuba? 137

14 The Dominican Republic: Bullets in the Embassy Window 147

15 The Dominic Republic: Seeing Red 155

16 Cambodia: Fish in the Craters 163

17 Angola: A Global Monroe Doctrine 173

18 Shaba: A Congolese Reprise 183

19 Iran: Hostages Will Die 191

20 Nicaragua: Who Is Contra? 197

21 El Salvador: A Textbook Case 205

22 Lebanon: Death on the Beach 215

23 Grenada: An Ocean Venture 221

24 Grenada: Saving Our Students 229

25 Grenada: The Cubans Were Ferocious 241

26 Libya: Qaddafi's Air Conditioner 253

27 The Philippines: Shoring Cory 263

28 Panama: Slaying a Monster 269

29 Panama: Explaining Why 283

30 Liberia: Just in Case 293

31 Iraq: Blood for Oil? 299

32 Somalia: Blackhawk Down 311

33 Baghdad: Missiles with a Message 317

34 Sudan: Pharmaceutical Fiasco 329

35 Iraq: Low-Intensity Intervention 335

36 Kosovo: Credibility Above All 349

37 Afghanistan: End to Terror? 359

38 Iraq: Regime Change 367

39 Why Not Tell the Truth? 377

40 Why Intervene at All? 385

41 Won't the Media Protect Us? 391

42 Won't Congress Protect Us? 397

43 Interventions of the Future 403

44 The Price of Fraudulent Intervention 411.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 417-427) and index.

ISBN:

9781591025160

1591025168

OCLC:

77716534