On shedding an obsolete past : bidding farewell to the American century / Andrew J. Bacevich.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Bacevich, Andrew J., author.

Series:

Dispatch books series

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

United States--Foreign relations--2017-2021.

United States.

United States--Politics and government--2017-2021.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (296 pages)

Place of Publication:

Chicago Illinois : Haymarket Books, [2022]

Summary:

A renowned historian and writer dismantles foreign policy decisions of the Trump and Biden administration.

Contents:

Cover

Copyright

Contents

Introduction

I Twisting the Past

1 Angst in the Church of America the Redeemer: David Brooks on Making America Great Again

2 The Age of Great Expectations and the Great Void: History after "the End of History"

3 Kissing the Specious Present Goodbye: Did History Begin Anew Last November 8?

4 On Seeing America's Wars Whole: Six Questions for A. G. Sulzberger

5 Infinite War: The Gravy Train Rolls On

6 The "Forever Wars" Enshrined: Visiting mar-SAYLZ

7 The Art of Shaping Memory: Knowing Whom to Remember and How to Forget

8 Reflections on "Peace" in Afghanistan: Leaving a Misguided War and Not Looking Back

9 A Report Card on the American Project: The "Revolution of '89" Reassessed

10 How "Historic" Are We? Or, Going Off-Script in the Age of Trump

11 V-E Day Plus Seventy-Five: From a Moment of Victory to a Time of Pandemic

12 Martin Luther King's Giant Triplets: Racism, Yes, but What about Militarism and Materialism?

13 Patton and Westy Meet in a Bar: A Play of Many Parts in One Act

14 Reframing America's Role in the World: The Specter of Isolationism

15 Reflections on Vietnam and Iraq: The Lessons of Two Failed Wars

II The Blob Goes Haywire

16 Out of Bounds, Off-Limits, or Just Plain Ignored: Six Questions Hillary, Donald, Ted, Marco, et al. Don't Want to Answer and Won't Even Be Asked

17 The Decay of American Politics: An Ode to Ike and Adlai

18 What We Talk about When We Don't Want to Talk about Nuclear War: Donald and Hillary Take a No-First-Use Pledge on Relevant Information

19 Prepare, Pursue, Prevail! Onward and Upward with US Central Command

20 Unsolicited Advice for an Undeclared Presidential Candidate: A Letter to Elizabeth Warren

21 Can We Stop Pretending Now? The Trump Era as an Occasion for Truth Telling.

22 The Great Reckoning: A Look Back from Mid-Century

23 False Security: Donald Trump and the Ten Commandments (Plus One) of the National Security State

24 Judgment Day for the National Security State: The Coronavirus and the Real Threats to American Safety and Freedom

III On and On They Go

25 Writing a Blank Check on War for the President: How the United States Became a Prisoner of War and Congress Went MIA

26 Milestones (or What Passes for Them in Washington): A Multitrillion-Dollar Bridge to Nowhere in the Greater Middle East

27 Winning: Trump Loves to Do It, but American Generals Have Forgotten How

28 Forbidden Questions? Twenty-Four Key Issues That Neither the Washington Elite nor the Media Consider Worth Their Bother

29 Autopilot Wars: Sixteen Years, but Who's Counting?

30 Still Waiting: A Harvey Weinstein Moment for America's Wars?

31 What Happens When a Few Volunteer and the Rest Just Watch: The American Military System Dissected

32 Our Man in Riyadh: Abizaid of Arabia

33 Lost in TrumpWorld: War in the Shadows

34 Illusions of Victory: How the United States Did Not Reinvent War but Thought It Did

IV Oh, Him (Remembering Trump)

35 Don't Cry for Me, America: What Trumpism Means for Democracy

36 Slouching Toward Mar-a-Lago: The Post-Cold War Consensus Collapses

37 How We Got Donald Trump (And How We Might Have Avoided Him)

38 After Trump: The Donald in the Rearview Mirror

39 The Real Cover-Up: Putting Donald Trump's Impeachment in Context

40 A Good Deed from the Wicked Witch? Actually Ending the War in Afghanistan

V Joe Grabs the Tiller

41 Beyond Donald Trump: When Poisons Curdle

42 On Shedding an Obsolete Past: Biden Defers to the Blob

43 America's Longest War Winds Down: No Bang, No Whimper, No Victory.

44 A Very Long War: From Vietnam to Afghanistan with Detours along the Way

Index

Back Cover.

Notes:

Description based on print version record.

Includes index.

ISBN:

9781642598674

1642598674

OCLC:

1344542113