Winning Modern Wars: Iraq, Terrorism, and the American Empire Book

This was a perspective of war like it is a game of chess. This piece moves here in order to attack/stop this piece, etc. Human lives are treated as units of force instead of as individuals with families and desires of their own. But that is a fact of war. The generals move the pieces, the pieces are very much human, but have signed up to be part of a larger mechanism that disrobes them of their humanity.

I know this book is not intended to talk about the human loss of life during war, but after reading an essay by Paul Fussell called "The Real War 1939-1945," I could only imagine while reading about the various "moves," "strikes," and other military successes in the approach to Iraq, the following: "You would expect front line soldiers to be struck and hurt by bullets and shell fragments, but such is the popular insulation from the facts that you would not expect them to be hurt, sometimes killed, by being struck by parts of their friends' bodies violently detached. If you asked a wounded soldier or marine what hit him, you'd hardly be ready for the answer, 'My buddy's head," or his sergeant's heel or his hand, or a Japanese leg, complete with shoe and puttees, or the West Point ring on his captain's severed hand."

Near the end, Clark becomes very idealistic and states what the U.S. needs to do to improve its way of life for all Americans. I agree with what he says, but he is almost preaching to the choir. What steps and actions are being realistically taken to accomplish these ideals? The people who are responsible for this are likely not reading his book.

"Surprisingly, most of the discussions about American Empire--about terrorist threats abroad and our actions to address them--have little to say about America itself. Yet in the wake of 9/11 Americans are seeing themselves in a new way. For the first time in more than a decade, we are aware of the importance of the world beyond our borders, as well as the power of political forces and ideas that aren't our own. And we are looking at each other differently, too, seeking a community with greater trust and security. And we shouldn't believe that we can meet this challenge without ourselves changing the in the process." p. 199

I read this book because I received it as a gift from an annual investor meeting back in the early 2000's.