Low Intensity Warfare: How the USA Fights Wars Without Declaring Them

by Michael T. Klare, Peter Kornbluh

Eight foreign policy experts analyze the expanding role of the United States government in pro-insurgency, counter-insurgency, and anti-terrorist programs around the world

Genres: History, Politics, American History, Military Fiction, Nonfiction, War

Hardcover

First published December 12, 1987

About the author

Michael T. Klare is a Five Colleges professor of Peace and World Security Studies, whose department is located at Hampshire College, defense correspondent of The Nation magazine, and author of Resource Wars and Blood and Oil: The Dangers and Consequences of America's Growing Petroleum Dependency (Metropolitan).

Klare also teaches at Amherst College, Smith College, Mount Holyoke College, and the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

Klare also serves on the boards of directors of Human Rights Watch, and the Arms Control Association. He is a regular contributor to many publications including The Nation, TomDispatch, Mother Jones, and is a frequent columnist for Foreign Policy In Focus.

Reviews

[Carlos · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was on the U.S.S. St. Louis sailing up to Korea and Hong Kong from Okinawa and was BORED out of my mind, so I went over to the ship's library, came across this book, devoured it in a couple of days, and I have loved reading since!

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

While much of what's discussed in this series of essays has obviously been overcome by the events of the last 35 years, it does serve as a snapshot for how people were viewing US imperialist intervention in the Reagan era. The chapters on El Salvador, Nicaragua and The Philippines are interesting, but most folks will be better off reading something more recent on the ever evolving tactics of insurgency and counterinsurgency.

[Chino Fernandez · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's an old book that was in my late dad's bookself for the longest time (still has his name stamp-padded on the first few pages, Carlos G Fernandez, Lt Col (GSC) PC). When he first got it in the late 80's, I as a kid read only the chapter that listed U.S. forces and military hardware. Fast forward to probably two to three years ago, I read it in full, and whoah, what a book. It's actually quite on the left of things, and I was surprised to see a chapter by a leftist Filipino politician, Walden Bello. But though I'm more conservative, I do see that this book is describing some real issues: that the U.S. has been waging proxy wars in third-world countries mainly for their resources, mine (the Philippines) included. That is one of the reasons Rodrigo Duterte was elected Philippine president in 2016, he's actually left-leaning as well as initially hostile to the U.S. The book though gives a good overview of American proxy-war operations in other countries of the time, post-Vietnam and pre-Gulf War and 9-11. it's a book some would have been reading with Information Society or Milli Vanilli blaring on the radio. Or even Paul Hardcastle's "19."

[Amani Marshall · Rating 5 out of 5]

absolutely insane stuff

[Jay G.]

CIA backed coup d'etats,assasinations, politicide, Allende, Ollie North and all around Happy Days style antics....this is my wheelhouse. This book explains with the tactful precision of guerilla warfare why the US gov't needs a nice warm dose of Superaids. SPOILER ALERT: We kill brown people! Imagine that.