Twilight of the American century

504 Pages·2018·2.178 MB·English

by  Bacevich, Andrew J.

Twilight of the American Century

T W I L I G H T

O F T H E
A M E R I C A N
C E N T U R Y
A N D R E W J . B A C E V I C H
University of Notre Dame Press
Notre Dame, Indiana
University of Notre Dame Press
Notre Dame, Indiana 46556
undpress.nd.edu
All Rights Reserved
Copyright © 2018 by Andrew J. Bacevich
Published in the United States of America
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Bacevich, Andrew J., author.
Title: Twilight of the American century / Andrew J. Bacevich.
Description: Notre Dame, Indiana : University of Notre Dame Press, [2018] |
Includes index. |
Identifiers: LCCN 2018021921 (print) | LCCN 2018040612 (ebook) |
ISBN 9780268104870 (pdf) | ISBN 9780268104887 (epub) |
ISBN 9780268104856 | ISBN 9780268104856 (hardback : alk. paper) |
ISBN 0268104859 (hardback : alk. paper) | ISBN 9780268104863
(paperback : alk. paper) | ISBN 0268104867 (paperback : alk. paper)
Subjects: LCSH: United States—Politics and government—21st century.
Classification: LCC E902 (ebook) | LCC E902.B33 2018 (print) |
DDC 320.973/0905—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018021921
∞ This paper meets the requirements of
ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992 (Permanence of Paper).
This e-Book was converted from the original source file by a third-party
vendor. Readers who notice any formatting, textual, or readability issues are
encouraged to contact the publisher at [email protected]
To Steve Brown, Tom Engelhardt, and John Wright
—
Irrepressible New Yorkers,
Irreplaceable Friends
Jerusalem has sinned grievously; therefore, she has become an
object of scorn.
All who honored her now despise her, for they have seen her
nakedness.
—Lamentations, chapter 1, verse 8
Contents
Introduction. Straying from the Well-Trod Path 1
Part 1. Poseurs and Prophets
1. A Letter to Paul Wolfowitz: Occasioned by the Tenth 15
Anniversary of the Iraq War (2013)
2. David Brooks: Angst in the Church of America the 23
Redeemer (2017)
3. Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr. and the Decline of American 31
Liberalism (2017)
4. George Kennan: Kennan Kvetches (2014) 39
5. Tom Clancy: Military Man (2014) 48
6. Robert Kagan: The Duplicity of the Ideologues (2014) 53
7. Boykinism: Joe McCarthy Would Understand (2012) 60
8. Henry Luce: The Elusive American Century (2012) 67
9. Donald Rumsfeld: Known and Unknown (2011) 73
10. Albert and Roberta Wohlstetter: Tailors to the Emperor 80
(2011)
11. Fault Lines: Inside Rumsfeld’s Pentagon (2008) 105
12. Tommy Franks: A Modern Major General (2004) 117
13. Selling Our Souls: Of Idolatry and iPhones (2011) 132
14. Christopher Lasch: Family Man (2010) 138
15. Randolph Bourne: The Man in the Black Cape (2009) 148
16. William Appleman Williams: Tragedy Renewed (2009) 153
17. Reinhold Niebuhr: Illusions of Managing History (2007) 166
Part 2. History and Myth
18. Saving “America First” (2017) 183
19. Kissing the Specious Present Goodbye (2017) 194
20. The Age of Great Expectations (2017) 201
21. American Imperium (2016) 213
22. History That Makes Us Stupid (2015) 233
23. Always and Everywhere (2013) 240
24. The Ugly American Telegram (2013) 250
25. The Revisionist Imperative (2012) 253
26. The End of (Military) History? (2010) 266
27. Twilight of the Republic? (2006) 274
28. What Happened at Bud Dajo (2006) 288
29. The Folly of Albion (2005) 292
30. The Real World War IV (2005) 298
Part 3. War and Empire
31. Save Us From Washington’s Visionaries (2015) 329
32. A War of Ambition (2014) 335
33. Naming Our Nameless War (2013) 340
34. How We Became Israel (2012) 349
35. Breaking Washington’s Rules (2011) 355
viii Contents
36. Why Read Clausewitz When Shock and Awe Can Make a 365
Clean Sweep of Things? (2006)
37. Living Room War (2005) 375
38. Bush’s Grand Strategy (2002) 381
39. New Rome, New Jerusalem (2002) 386
40. Permanent War for Permanent Peace (2001) 395
Part 4. Politics and Culture
41. Slouching Toward Mar-a-Lago (2017) 405
42. Not the “Age of Trump” (2017) 415
43. The Failure of American Liberalism (2016) 420
44. An Ode to Ike and Adlai (2016) 424
45. War and Culture, American Style (2016) 434
46. Under God (2015) 440
47. Thoughts on a Graduation Weekend (2014) 444
48. One Percent Republic (2013) 447
49. Counterculture Conservatism (2013) 454
50. Ballpark Liturgy (2011) 460
51. The Great Divide (2008) 465
Acknowledgments 470
Index 474
Contents ix