America's Strategic Blunders

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Author :
Publisher : Penn State Press
ISBN 13 : 0271039825
Total Pages : 378 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (71 download)

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Book Synopsis America's Strategic Blunders by : Willard C. Matthias

Download or read book America's Strategic Blunders written by Willard C. Matthias and published by Penn State Press. This book was released on 2010-11 with total page 378 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This survey of more than fifty years of national security policy juxtaposes declassified U. S. national intelligence estimates with recently released Soviet documents disclosing the views of Soviet leaders and their Communist allies on the same events. Matthias shows that U. S. intelligence estimates were usually correct but that our political and military leaders generally ignored them&—with sometimes disastrous results. The book begins with a look back at the role of U. S. intelligence during World War II, from Pearl Harbor through the plot against Hitler and the D-day invasion to the &"unconditional surrender&" of Japan, and reveals how better use of the intelligence available could have saved many lives and shortened the war. The following chapters dealing with the Cold War disclose what information and advice U. S. intelligence analysts passed on to policy makers, and also what sometimes bitter policy debates occurred within the Communist camp, concerning Vietnam, the Bay of Pigs, the Cuban missile crisis, the turmoil in Eastern Europe, the Six-Day and Yom Kippur wars in the Middle East, and the Soviet intervention in Afghanistan. In many ways, this is a story of missed opportunities the U. S. government had to conduct a more responsible foreign policy that could have avoided large losses of life and massive expenditures on arms buildups. While not exonerating the CIA for its own mistakes, Matthias casts new light on the contributions that objective intelligence analysis did make during the Cold War and speculates on what might have happened if that analysis and advice had been heeded.

Blinders, Blunders, and Wars

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Publisher : Rand Corporation
ISBN 13 : 0833087770
Total Pages : 328 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (33 download)

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Book Synopsis Blinders, Blunders, and Wars by : David C. Gompert

Download or read book Blinders, Blunders, and Wars written by David C. Gompert and published by Rand Corporation. This book was released on 2014-11-26 with total page 328 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The history of wars caused by misjudgments, from Napoleon’s invasion of Russia to America’s invasion of Iraq, reveals that leaders relied on cognitive models that were seriously at odds with objective reality. Blinders, Blunders, and Wars analyzes eight historical examples of strategic blunders regarding war and peace and four examples of decisions that turned out well, and then applies those lessons to the current Sino-American case.

Sustainable Security

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Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0190611480
Total Pages : 433 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (96 download)

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Book Synopsis Sustainable Security by : Jeremi Suri

Download or read book Sustainable Security written by Jeremi Suri and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2016 with total page 433 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Sustaining security : rethinking American national security strategy / Jeremi Suri and Benjamin Valentino -- Dollar diminution and new macroeconomic constraints on American power / Jonathan Kirshner -- Does American military power attract foreign investment? / Daniel Drezner and Nancy Hite-Rubin -- Preserving national strength in a period of fiscal restraint / Cindy Williams -- State finance and national power : Great Britain, China, and the United States in historical perspective / Jeremi Suri -- Reforming American power : civilian national security institutions in the early cold war and beyond / William Inboden -- To starve an army : how great power armies respond to austerity / John W. Hall -- Climate change and US national security : sustaining security amidst unsustainability / Joshua William Busby -- At home abroad : public attitudes towards America's overseas commitments / Benjamin Valentino -- The right choice for NATO / William Wohlforth -- The United States and the Middle East : interests, risks, and costs / Daniel Byman and Sara Bjerg Moller -- Keep, toss, or fix? : assessing US alliances in East Asia / Jennifer Lind -- Terminating the interminable? / Sumit Ganguly -- Neutralization as a sustainable approach to Afghanistan / Audrey Kurth Cronin -- Conclusion / Jeremi Suri and Benjamin Valentino

Enemies of Intelligence

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Publisher : Columbia University Press
ISBN 13 : 023113889X
Total Pages : 266 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (311 download)

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Book Synopsis Enemies of Intelligence by : Richard K. Betts

Download or read book Enemies of Intelligence written by Richard K. Betts and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 2009 with total page 266 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Combining study with experience, Richard K. Betts draws on three decades of work within the U.S. intelligence community to illuminate the paradoxes and problems that frustrate the intelligence process. Unlike America's efforts to improve its defenses against natural disasters, strengthening its strategic assessment capabilities means outwitting crafty enemies who operate beyond U.S. borders. It also requires looking within to the organizational and political dynamics of collecting information and determining its implications for policy. Betts outlines key strategies for better intelligence gathering and assessment. He describes how fixing one malfunction can create another; in what ways expertise can be both a vital tool and a source of error and misjudgment; the pitfalls of always striving for accuracy in intelligence, which in some cases can render it worthless; the danger, though unavoidable, of "politicizing" intelligence; and the issue of secrecy--when it is excessive, when it is insufficient, and how limiting privacy can in fact protect civil liberties. Grounding his arguments in extensive theory and policy analysis, Betts takes a comprehensive and realistic look at the convergence of knowledge and power in facing the intelligence challenges of the twenty-first century.

Planning to Fail

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Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0190935340
Total Pages : 240 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (99 download)

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Book Synopsis Planning to Fail by : James H. Lebovic

Download or read book Planning to Fail written by James H. Lebovic and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2019-03-14 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The United States national-security establishment is vast, yet the United States has failed to meet its initial objectives in almost every one of its major, post-World War II conflicts. Of these troubled efforts, the US wars in Vietnam (1965-73), Iraq (2003-11), and Afghanistan (2001-present) stand out for their endurance, resource investment, human cost, and miscalculated decisions. Because overarching policy goals are distant and open to interpretation, policymakers ground their decisions in the immediate world of short-term objectives, salient tasks, policy constraints, and fixed time schedules. As a consequence, they exaggerate the benefits of their preferred policies, ignore the accompanying costs and requirements, and underappreciate the benefits of alternatives. In Planning to Fail, James H. Lebovic argues that a profound myopia helps explain US decision-making failures. In each of the wars explored in this book, he identifies four stages of intervention. First and foremost, policymakers chose unwisely to go to war. After the fighting began, they inadvisably sought to extend or expand the mission. Next, they pursued the mission, in abbreviated form, to suboptimal effect. Finally, they adapted the mission to exit from the conflict. Lebovic argues that US leaders were effectively planning to fail whatever their hopes and thoughts were at the time the intervention began. Decision-makers struggled less than they should have, even when conditions allowed for good choices. Then, when conditions on the ground left them with only bad choices, they struggled furiously and more than could ever matter. Policymakers allowed these wars to sap available capabilities, push US forces to the breaking point, and exhaust public support. They finally settled for terms of departure that they (or their predecessors) would have rejected at the start of these conflicts. Offering a far-ranging and detailed analysis, this book identifies an unmistakable pattern of failure and highlights lessons we can learn from it.

Eleven Blunders that Cripple Psychotherapy in America

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Author :
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1135857512
Total Pages : 232 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (358 download)

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Book Synopsis Eleven Blunders that Cripple Psychotherapy in America by : Nicholas A. Cummings

Download or read book Eleven Blunders that Cripple Psychotherapy in America written by Nicholas A. Cummings and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2010-12-20 with total page 232 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: After a period of economic success and high regard in society, clinical psychology has fallen onto hard times, assert authors Nicholas Cummings and William O’Donohue. In the 1960s, clinical psychologists with doctorates were well paid in relation to comparable professions; today, starting salaries are lower than many jobs that require only a bachelor’s degree. Clinical psychology in the 1960s was preferred and valued over other fields as a profession; today it is not even on the list of top 20 fields for graduates to enter. Psychologists’ opinions on social issues are disregarded by the public. What was and continues to be the reason for the decline and continuing descent of clinical psychology? The authors posit that the profession blundered and has not adapted to the profound changes that have taken place in American society over the past 40 years. Psychotherapy practice is based on a 50-minute hour, yet mental health treatment must operate at a much briefer, more efficient pace. Clinicians ignore the findings of scientific research for effective treatments and favor the overblown pronouncements of gurus who preach without substance. Clinicians failed to adapt their practice to the needs of the healthcare industry and do not recognize that psychotherapy is health profession. An anti-business bias has contributed to training programs that ignore the economic realities of running a practice. The failure to secure prescription privileges, the invention of diagnoses, and political correctness are among the other blunders that pull the profession away from its primary mission -- mental health treatment -- and contribute to the low esteem in which psychologists are held. The authors enumerate and discuss the Eleven Blunders That Cripple Psychotherapy in America and offer remedies to correct the ongoing decline of the field.

Great Military Blunders

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Author :
Publisher : Madcap
ISBN 13 : 9780233005096
Total Pages : 272 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (5 download)

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Book Synopsis Great Military Blunders by : Geoffrey Regan

Download or read book Great Military Blunders written by Geoffrey Regan and published by Madcap. This book was released on 2017-02 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "From ancient times to the Bay of Pigs and the Falklands War, military history has been marked as much by misjudgements and incompetence as by gallantry and glory. In this fascinating and entertaining collection, author Geoffrey Regan recounts some of the staggering stories of military blunder. His anecdotes encompass every aspect of warfare from the insanity of commanders to the provision of inadequate supplies."--Back cover.

Niagara, 1814

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Author :
Publisher : Lawrence : University Press of Kansas
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 456 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (91 download)

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Book Synopsis Niagara, 1814 by : Richard V. Barbuto

Download or read book Niagara, 1814 written by Richard V. Barbuto and published by Lawrence : University Press of Kansas. This book was released on 2000 with total page 456 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Most books on the War of 1812 focus on the burning of Washington, D.C., the Battles of Baltimore and New Orleans, and the war in the Old Northwest. Scant attention, however, has been paid the Niagara Campaign of 1814-the American army's ambitious but failed attempt to wrest Canada from British control. While a few writers have dealt with aspects of this effort, Richard Barbuto is the first to offer a comprehensive study of the entire campaign. Barbuto covers every aspect of a campaign that saw the American army come of age, even as its military leaders blundered away potential victory and the acquisition of a coveted expanse of North American territory. Vividly recreating the major battles on the Niagara peninsula—at Chippawa, Lundy's Lane, Fort Erie, and Cook's Mill—Barbuto also clarifies the role of these engagements within the overall framework of American strategy. Despite early success at Chippawa, four long months of fighting finally ended in something like a draw, with the British still in control of Canada. Barbuto argues convincingly that the American government was never really able to harness, coordinate, and focus its tremendous resources in ways that would have allowed the campaign to succeed. Much of the blame, he shows, can be attributed to the poor leadership and confused strategic thinking of President James Madison and his secretary of war, John Armstrong. The American effort was further undermined by manpower shortages, a few ineffective field commanders, and the army and navy's inability to coordinate their objectives and operations. Even so, Barbuto contends that the American soldier, led by the likes of Jacob Brown and the legendary Winfield Scott, performed surprisingly well against one of the great armies of the nineteenth century. Barbuto's analysis, unmarred by national bias, presents a balanced picture of these events from the perspective of all participants—American, British, Canadian, and Native American. He also fills an important gap by providing the first ever capsule histories of all regimental-sized units involved in the campaign. Breathing new life into these events, his far-ranging study should become the definitive work on this long-neglected campaign.

Magic and Mayhem

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Author :
Publisher : Simon and Schuster
ISBN 13 : 1439125716
Total Pages : 354 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (391 download)

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Book Synopsis Magic and Mayhem by : Derek Leebaert

Download or read book Magic and Mayhem written by Derek Leebaert and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2010 with total page 354 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As the nation commits itself to a renewed military effort in Afghanistan, Georgetown foreign relations professor Leebaert explains why we have so often stumbled in our foreign policy. He analyzes the follies and failures of "emergency men, " the political appointees, intellectuals, and policy entrepreneurs of the national security establishment, from the Best and Brightest architects of the Vietnam debacle to the neo-con masterminds of the Iraq War.

Wilson's War

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Author :
Publisher : Random House Digital, Inc.
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 362 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (91 download)

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Book Synopsis Wilson's War by : Jim Powell

Download or read book Wilson's War written by Jim Powell and published by Random House Digital, Inc.. This book was released on 2005 with total page 362 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The fateful blunder that radically altered the course of the twentieth century—and led to some of the most murderous dictators in history President Woodrow Wilson famously rallied the United States to enter World War I by saying the nation had a duty to make “the world safe for democracy.” But as historian Jim Powell demonstrates in this shocking reappraisal, Wilson actually made a horrible blunder by committing the United States to fight. Far from making the world safe for democracy, America’s entry into the war opened the door to murderous tyrants and Communist rulers. No other president has had a hand—however unintentional—in so much destruction. That’s why, Powell declares, “Wilson surely ranks as the worst president in American history.” Wilson’s Warreveals the horrifying consequences of our twenty-eighth president’s fateful decision to enter the fray in Europe. It led to millions of additional casualties in a war that had ground to a stalemate. And even more disturbing were the long-term consequences—consequences that played out well after Wilson’s death. Powell convincingly demonstrates that America’s armed forces enabled the Allies to win a decisive victory they would not otherwise have won—thus enabling them to impose the draconian surrender terms on Germany that paved the way for Adolf Hitler’s rise to power. Powell also shows how Wilson’s naiveté and poor strategy allowed the Bolsheviks to seize power in Russia. Given a boost by Woodrow Wilson, Lenin embarked on a reign of terror that continued under Joseph Stalin. The result of Wilson’s blunder was seventy years of Soviet Communism, during which time the Communist government murdered some sixty million people. Just as Powell’sFDR’s Follyexploded the myths about Franklin Roosevelt and the New Deal,Wilson’s Wardestroys the conventional image of Woodrow Wilson as a great “progressive” who showed how the United States can do good by intervening in the affairs of other nations. Jim Powell delivers a stunning reminder that we should focus less on a president’s high-minded ideals and good intentions than on the consequences of his actions. A selection of the Conservative Book Club and American Compass

Anatomy of Failure

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Publisher : Naval Institute Press
ISBN 13 : 1682472264
Total Pages : 150 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (824 download)

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Book Synopsis Anatomy of Failure by : Harlan Ullman

Download or read book Anatomy of Failure written by Harlan Ullman and published by Naval Institute Press. This book was released on 2017-11-15 with total page 150 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Why, since the end of World War II, has the United States either lost every war it started or failed in every military intervention it prosecuted? Harlan Ullman's new book answers this most disturbing question, a question Americans would never think of even asking because this record of failure has been largely hidden in plain sight or forgotten with the passage of time. The most straightforward answer is that presidents and administrations have consistently failed to use sound strategic thinking and lacked sufficient knowledge or understanding of the circumstances prior to deciding whether or not to employ force. Making this case is an in-depth analysis of the records of presidents from John F. Kennedy to Barack Obama and Donald Trump in using force or starting wars. His recommended solutions begin with a "brains-based" approach to sound strategic thinking to address one of the major causes of failure ----the inexperience of too many of the nation's commanders-in-chief. Ullman reinforces his argument through the use of autobiographical vignettes that provide a human dimension and insight into the reasons for failure, in some cases making public previously unknown history. The clarion call of Anatomy of Failure is that both a sound strategic framework and sufficient knowledge and understanding of the circumstance that may lead to using force are vital. Without them, failure is virtually guaranteed.

Ike's Gamble

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Publisher : Simon and Schuster
ISBN 13 : 1451697759
Total Pages : 304 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (516 download)

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Book Synopsis Ike's Gamble by : Michael Doran

Download or read book Ike's Gamble written by Michael Doran and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2016-10-11 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In a bold reinterpretation of history, Ike's Gamble shows how the 1956 Suez Crisis taught President Eisenhower that Israel, not Egypt, would have to be America's ally in the region. In 1956 President Nasser of Egypt moved to take possession of the Suez Canal, bringing the Middle East to the brink of war. Distinguished Middle East expert Michael Doran shows how Nasser played the United States, invoking America's opposition to European colonialism to his own benefit. At the same time Nasser made weapons deals with the USSR and destabilized other Arab countries that the United States had been courting. In time, Eisenhower would realize that Nasser had duped him and that the Arab countries were too fractious to anchor America's interests in the Middle East. Affording deep insight into Eisenhower and his foreign policy, this fascinating and provocative history provides a rich new understanding of the tangled path by which the United States became the power broker in the Middle East. -- Back cover.

Why the Axis Lost

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Author :
Publisher : McFarland
ISBN 13 : 1476674523
Total Pages : 225 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (766 download)

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Book Synopsis Why the Axis Lost by : John Arquilla

Download or read book Why the Axis Lost written by John Arquilla and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2020-02-28 with total page 225 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The factors leading to the defeat of the Axis Powers in World War II have been debated for decades. One prevalent view is that overwhelming Allied superiority in materials and manpower doomed the Axis. Another holds that key strategic and tactical blunders lost the war--from Hitler halting his panzers outside Dunkirk, allowing more than 300,000 trapped Allied soldiers to escape, to Admiral Yamamoto falling into the trap set by the U.S. Navy at Midway. Providing a fresh perspective on the war, this study challenges both views and offers an alternative explanation: the Germans, Japanese and Italians made poor design choices in ships, planes, tanks and information security--before and during the war--that forced them to fight with weapons and systems that were too soon outmatched by the Allies. The unprecedented arms race of World War II posed a fundamental "design challenge" the Axis powers sometimes met but never mastered.

The Guinness Book of Naval Blunders

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Author :
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9780851127132
Total Pages : 198 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (271 download)

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Book Synopsis The Guinness Book of Naval Blunders by : Geoffrey Regan

Download or read book The Guinness Book of Naval Blunders written by Geoffrey Regan and published by . This book was released on 1993 with total page 198 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The author of Guinness's two books of military blunders from all periods of history presents a corresponding survey of naval incompetence, focusing on the misjudgements and oversights of captains, fleet commanders and strategic planners from Roman times to the Falklands War. omissions of sailors of every rank, the book incorporates failed amphibious operations, avoidable submarine disasters and naval aviation disasters. Case studies at the end of each chapter provide analysis of what went wrong in key battles and campaigns such as Navarino, Tsushima, Gallipoli, Jutland, Midway and Leyte Gulf.

Mission Failure

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Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0190469471
Total Pages : 505 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (94 download)

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Book Synopsis Mission Failure by : Michael Mandelbaum

Download or read book Mission Failure written by Michael Mandelbaum and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2016 with total page 505 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Mission Failure argues that, in the past 25 years, the U.S. military has turned to missions that are largely humanitarian and socio-political - and that this ideologically-driven foreign policy generally leads to failure.

American Military History Volume 1

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Author :
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9781944961404
Total Pages : 436 pages
Book Rating : 4.9/5 (614 download)

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Book Synopsis American Military History Volume 1 by : Army Center of Military History

Download or read book American Military History Volume 1 written by Army Center of Military History and published by . This book was released on 2016-06-05 with total page 436 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: American Military History provides the United States Army-in particular, its young officers, NCOs, and cadets-with a comprehensive but brief account of its past. The Center of Military History first published this work in 1956 as a textbook for senior ROTC courses. Since then it has gone through a number of updates and revisions, but the primary intent has remained the same. Support for military history education has always been a principal mission of the Center, and this new edition of an invaluable history furthers that purpose. The history of an active organization tends to expand rapidly as the organization grows larger and more complex. The period since the Vietnam War, at which point the most recent edition ended, has been a significant one for the Army, a busy period of expanding roles and missions and of fundamental organizational changes. In particular, the explosion of missions and deployments since 11 September 2001 has necessitated the creation of additional, open-ended chapters in the story of the U.S. Army in action. This first volume covers the Army's history from its birth in 1775 to the eve of World War I. By 1917, the United States was already a world power. The Army had sent large expeditionary forces beyond the American hemisphere, and at the beginning of the new century Secretary of War Elihu Root had proposed changes and reforms that within a generation would shape the Army of the future. But world war-global war-was still to come. The second volume of this new edition will take up that story and extend it into the twenty-first century and the early years of the war on terrorism and includes an analysis of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq up to January 2009.

Selling War to America

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Author :
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN 13 : 0275995240
Total Pages : 241 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (759 download)

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Book Synopsis Selling War to America by : Eugene Secunda

Download or read book Selling War to America written by Eugene Secunda and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2007-08-30 with total page 241 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Battles are won in combat. Wars are won by winning the hearts and minds of the people. Selling War to America provides a thought-provoking look at the propaganda efforts the U.S. government has exerted to that end. It begins with an examination of the government's campaign to instigate a war with Spain and ends with a review of the methods being used to encourage support for the War Against Terrorism. The book analyzes each of these wars within the context of the techniques used to generate public support, also examining the results of propaganda efforts, both before and after each conflict. From these historical analyses, noting both the blunders and the triumphs of the past century, the authors offer the keys to successfully persuading the American public to support wars that must be fought. Lies were told and truths withheld because government and military leaders did not trust the American people to make appropriate decisions concerning our national security. The attacks of September 11, 2001, on The World Trade Center Towers and the Pentagon have summoned the American people to a war on terrorism. The U.S. government is now trying to mobilize American public opinion to support this war. But this is just the most recent example of how our government has sought to enlist broad public support for the wars it has waged. The job of informing and persuading America to support its war efforts has become increasingly more challenging as media technologies, like instant global coverage of television news and the Internet, reach into every American home.