Another Century of War?

185 Pages·2002·0.66 MB·English

by  Gabriel Kolko

$15.95 U.S. Political Science/History a “The foremost modern historian of war.” —The Guardian
n
Like Vietnam, Iraq was initially a military triumph but has descended into a protract- o
ed conflict. Politically, it is becoming a failure. Afghanistan was another military suc- t
cess that turned into a political disaster. InAnother Century of War?,Gabriel Kolko— h
whose masterly studies of wars have redefined our views of modern conflicts and its e
consequences—deals with the crises now wracking the Middle East and Asia. r
The roots of today’s conflicts lie in America’s own cynical policies in the Middle
c
East and Afghanistan, leading to a half-century of realpolitik justified by crusades for
e
oil and against Communism. But although Communism has all but disappeared,
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American foreign policy has become even more ambitious, while the United States has
t
never been less secure. September 11, 2001 proved that. The United States has react-
u
ed to many complex foreign policy challenges with its massive military power instead r
of realistic political responses. Reviewing the history of American foreign policy, Kolko y
argues that the same policies that have produced disasters since the Korean and a nother century of war?
Vietnam wars will continue to do so in the future. American strategists have failed to o
heed the lessons of the past, and the result will be sustained conflicts for America and f
the world. Another Century of War?is a masterful analysis of our present foreign
w GABRIEL KOLKO
policy predicaments.
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Praise for Gabriel Kolko’s Century of War
?
“Remarkable sweep and depth of understanding.”
—Noam Chomsky
“His account of the social impact of wars and their turbulent
aftermath is as good as any I have ever read....A very
impressive work—one which has a Thucydidean sweep.”
—Michael Howard,International Journal G
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“A magnificent scholarly achievement ...deserves a B
place on the shelf reserved for those few studies of war R
I
that can help humanity.” —Richard Falk,Alternatives E
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Gabriel Kolkohas written twelve books. He is Distinguished O
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Research Professor Emeritus at York University in Toronto.
K
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www.thenewpress.com
Cover photograph by Reuters NewMedia Inc./Corbis
Cover design by Charles Robertson Design
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ANOTHER CENTURY OF WAR?
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Also by Gabriel Kolko
Vietnam:Anatomy of a Peace
Century ofWar:Politics,Conflicts,and Society Since 1914
Confronting the Third World:United States Foreign Policy,
1945–1980
Anatomy of a War:Vietnam,the United States,and the Modern
Historical Experience
Main Currents in ModernAmerican History
The Limits of Power:The World and United States Foreign
Policy,1945–1954(coauthored with Joyce Kolko)
The Roots of American Foreign Policy
The Politics ofWar:The World and United States Foreign Policy,
1943–1945
Railroads and Regulation,1877–1916(Transportation
History Prize,Organization of American Historians)
TheTriumph of Conservatism:A Reinterpretation of American
History,1900–1916
Wealth and Power inAmerica:An Analysis of Social Class and
Income Distribution
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ANOTHER CENTURY
OF WAR?
gabriel kolko
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To Joyce
© 2002 by Gabriel Kolko
Introduction © 2004 by Gabriel Kolko
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced,in any form,without written
permission from the publisher.
Published in the United States by The New Press,New York,2002
Distributed by W.W.Norton & Company,Inc.,New York
library of congress cataloging-in-publication data
Kolko,Gabriel.
Another century of war? / Gabriel Kolko.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 1-56584-758-X (pbk.)
1. United States—Foreign relations—2001—Forecasting.
2. United States—Foreign relations—1989.
3. September 11 Terrorist Attacks,2001—Causes. I. Title.
E895.K65 2002
327.73'001'12—dc21 2002025512
The New Press was established in 1990 as a not-for-profit alternative
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Contents
Preface ix
Introduction xiii
1 The War Comes Home 1
2 The Middle East:The Legacies of Failure 19
3 The Trap:Afghanistan and the United States 45
4 The Making of American Foreign Policy:
Successes,and Failures 86
5 Strategic Confusions 106
6 Another Century of War? 138
Sources and Notes 151
Index 159
vii
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Preface
In 1994 I published Century of War, which dealt with nations
of the world that had been approximately equal in military
power but also had the ambition to dominate other countries.
The period after 1914 was incredibly destructive,but there was
also a rough symmetry of might that created some decades
of tense armed standoff,intervals of peace that led inevitably
to more bloody wars. The situation over the past decade has
changed radically,and no nation can match the United States’
military power. But its arms have not brought peace to the
world even though Communism has virtually disappeared and
can no longer serve to explain the behavior of the United States
and its allies.
The world has become far more complex,and much more
unstable politically.The Cold War is over,but the dangers and
reality of wars are ever present.There are,especially,more civil
wars.Weapons of every sort are more destructive and also more
widely distributed.The tragic events of September 11,2001,
seemingly brought all of these disturbing factors to a climax for
the first time within the United States.There were tangible rea-
sons why they occurred—and why we now live in an era of
ix