Overcoming the Bush legacy in Iraq and Afghanistan
By: Deepak Tripathi ; foreword by John Tirman.
Edition: 1st ed.
Publisher: Potomac Books
Published: 2010
Place of publication: Washington, D.C
Language: eng
Number of pages: 183
ISBN-13: 9781597975032
Subjects: Bush, George W. -- 1946- -- Political and social views; War on Terrorism, 2001-; Afghan War, 2001-; Iraq War, 2003-; Conservatism -- United States -- History -- 21st century; United States -- Foreign relations -- 2001-2009; United States -- Foreign relations -- Philosophy; United States -- Politics and government -- 2001-2009
Description: "The military venture on which George W. Bush embarked within months of his 2001 inauguration has eclipsed all other efforts during his presidency. What started as a military response to al Qaeda's attacks in New York and Washington on September 11, 2001, with the goal of neutralizing al Qaeda and its Taliban hosts in Afghanistan, quickly fused with the neoconservative agenda to reshape and dominate the Middle East. Al Qaeda's terrorism was answered with American military power, which has destroyed or blighted the lives of millions in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Pakistan." "Having kept a keen rye on the region for more than three decades, former BBC correspondent Deepak Tripathi systematically identifies in Overcoming the Bush Legacy in Iraq and Afghanistan the administration's naive calculations, strategic and operational blunders, disregard for history and for other cultures, and even downright prejudices that have brought so much harm to so many. Bush's "war on terror" has provoked resentment and violent opposition, opened up sectarian divisions, and created Hobbesian conditions of all-against-all war. The long-term price tag for America has been estimated at a colossal $3 trillion, but as Tripathi seeks to demonstrate, the total cost, in human and economic terms, will be incalculable." "Overall, Tripathi asserts that American exceptionalism and unilateralism are relics of a bygone political era. The limitations of twenty-firstcentury military technology have been laid bare, and the legacy of the administration's foreign policy will take years to overcome. The Obama administration must now undertake slow and painstaking diplomacy to repair ties with adversaries, to listen more to allies, and to seek new ones. Overcoming the Bush Legacy in Iraq and Afghanistan is not only a cogent and honest appraisal of the Bush administration, but also a stark reminder of the consequences we all face."--Jacket.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: Anatomy of neoconservatism; title: With us or without us; title: Battle for Afghanistan; title: In Afghanistan, war is peace; title: Explaining the invasion of Iraq; title: Human rights in acute crisis; title: Rebuke of history; title: Dimensions of failure; title: Power without prudence.