Max Blumenthal exposes the hidden connections between American foreign policy and global extremism. He reveals how Washington's covert support for Afghan mujahedin fighters triggered the 1979 Russian invasion and set off decades of blowback. The author documents how the Pentagon armed and trained jihadist groups across Afghanistan, Syria, and Libya while launching regime change operations throughout the Middle East. These interventions created the conditions for ISIS to emerge and brought foreign conflicts back to American territory. Blumenthal argues that failed overseas wars have made the United States more susceptible to both terrorism and domestic ultra-nationalism. He positions the Trump presidency as the natural result of post-Cold War neoconservative imperialism and warns that Trump's Middle East policies will likely worsen these dangerous trends.
Genres: history, international-relations, political-science, politics, non-fiction, 21st-century, current-affairs, american-history
Vibes: dark, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: investigative-journalism
Setting: Afghanistan, Syria, Libya, Middle East, United States
Period: Cold War, Trump Presidency
Paperback
Content warnings: violence