American Wars

Illusions and Realities

Nonfiction, Social & Cultural Studies, Political Science, Politics, Arms Control

• Author: Paul Buchheit
• ISBN: 9780932863737
• Publisher: Clarity Press
• Publication: January 5, 2010
• Imprint: Clarity Press
• Language: English

When many Americans hear that the US may go to war against another nation, they tend to believe there's probably a good reason for it or that no viable alternatives exist�or they don't think about it at all. They trust their leaders to represent them and defend their values. They accept their leaders' claims that war is to ensure their safety when others wish to harm them.The parties of war play on Americans' basic values to bring them online. The media reassures them that the reasons for war are altruistic� that Americans wish to spread democracy and allow others to adopt their way of life. But is this the case?

With 24 compelling illustrations, maps and graphs, this book is intended to serve as a tool for peace advocacy. Well known peace advocates respond to 19 of the most common illusions held by the American public which weaken their opposition to Washington's wars.

"The American way of war offers a nonstop supply of illusions--while imposing horrific realities far away and, ultimately, at home too. This book is intent on dispelling key illusions and coming to terms with human realities. Between the covers of American Wars, the result is a compendium of insights and hard-won knowledge of the sort you'll rarely find in the daily paper or the evening news. The writers are myth-busters who challenge the conventional lack of wisdom that drags the United States into one war after another and keeps us lethally mired in a warfare state. This collection provides us with an array of vital perspectives, opening up a crucial topic that usually remains shut down--what American wars are doing to humanity, under false pretenses and with calamitous results, around the world and in our own neighborhoods. The future is at stake. This book helps us to understand the perils and opportunities of the present moment. --NORMAN SOLOMON, author of War Made Easy