First published 2010
American military policy rests on three core assumptions that have guided every administration for fifty years. The United States must maintain permanent armed forces across the globe. American troops must stay prepared for operations in distant regions. The country must stand ready to intervene anywhere without notice. Bacevich traces how this consensus emerged when American power reached its peak. He reveals the biases behind America's faith in military superiority and the belief that overwhelming force will make other nations serve American interests in oil, credit, and consumer goods. The author argues this militarism has become both unaffordable and dangerous as American global power weakens. Politicians refuse to admit this decline, but Bacevich insists the moment has come to reconsider the principles that drive American foreign policy. He contends that fixing Afghanistan should not matter more than fixing Detroit. The book calls for abandoning this Washington consensus as the path to America's future.
Genres: american, political-science, politics, non-fiction, military-history, american-history
Vibes: thought-provoking
Tropes: critical-analysis
Setting: Afghanistan, Detroit, United States
Period: 20th-century, 21st-century
304 pages · Hardcover · Metropolitan Books