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Imperial Hubris: Why the West is Losing the War on Terror
List Price: $27.50 Our Price: $18.70
Hardcover - 15 July, 2004
Brassey's Inc
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Author: Anonymous
ISBN: 1574888498
Number of Media: 1
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| Hardcover Description The war on terror has created near unanimity on many points, at least within the American press and political leadership. One essential point of agreement: al Qaeda specifically and radical Islamism in general are stirred by a hatred of modernity. Or as President George W. Bush has articulated repeatedly, they hate freedom. Nonsense, responds the nameless author of this work and 2003's Through Our Enemies' Eyes (the senior U.S. intelligence official's identity became an open secret by publication date). Indeed, he grimly and methodically discards common wisdom throughout this scathing and compelling take on counterterrorism. Imperial Hubris is not a book that will cheer Americans, regardless of their perspectives on the post-9/11 environment. We are, the author notes, losing the war on terror. Hawks will squirm as the author heaps contempt on U.S. missions in Afghanistan (too little, too late) and Iraq ("a sham causing more instability than it prevents"), but opponents of Bush administration policies may blanch at Anonymous' suggestion that what's needed is for the West to "proceed with relentless, brutal, and, yes, blood-soaked offensive military actions until we have annihilated the Islamists who threaten us." Quoting the at-all-cost likes of William Tecumseh Sherman and Curtis Lemay on one hand and contending that unrelenting military measures be accompanied by concessions to the ideology of the militants on the other are unlikely to curry widespread support from either side of the divide. And how will readers conditioned to references to Osama bin Laden as a deranged gangster or simple-minded fanatic with deep pockets digest the respect accorded "the most popular anti-American leader in the world today"? Imperial Hubris clearly wasn't written to win friends, though the author believes it's essential that his words influence people at the top. Whether it will is debatable, but that this blunt, forceful, urgently argued polemic recharges the discussion is a foregone conclusion. --Steven Stolder |
| Reviews From Our Customers
Gripping and Thought-Provoking The writer evidently (according to the Boston Phoenix) was involved in tracking Bin Laden for the intelligence authorities. The book is a well-argued well-written brief: one should read it responsively, trying to counter the author's arguments. He is making a case on how to analyze Bin Laden's actions, how to predict what Al Quaeda will do, and how to fight Al Quaeda. There are specific policy prescriptions, and specific analyses of policy mistakes. I think this is a very important book - whether one agrees or disagrees with the author, he gives facts, backed by publicly available cites and references, which enable the reader to make informed judgments. Very well-written. The author must be a first-rate analyst. I believe that it is rare that the general public gets to read material of this calibre on issues of such moment.
CIA Strikes Back It is important to realize that this book is not a lashing out at the current administration but a clarification of a state of affairs in the United States and abroad. The scapegoating of the CIA by the administration for faulty information on WMD possession to justify its invasion of Iraq has perhaps resulted in the need for the CIA to respond in the only manner it can, anonymously. Read this book not as a defamation of a president or an administration but as a genuine critique of imperial overstretch and its consequences for America's war on terror.
No Secrets Revealed Sorry, no secrets were found but Anonymous has good insights when "analysis" runs into the "message". Given the recent stable of anti-Bush books, you would think this book is part of the race for first-place in that crowded field. I would disagree. "Hubris" belongs with Steve Coll's "Ghost Wars" or Robert Baer's "Sleeping With the Devil..." and "See Know Evil..." If you must be political... read "America Alone" by Halper and Clarke. "Hubris" will compliment the reading of any of these books and if you have not read them... I suspect you will. Any way you read "Imperial Hubris", it is likely you will not be disappointed. |
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