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America Goes Backward
"Wrong assumptions, immoderate and confused ends, served by a mixture of counterproductive, inadequate, mismanaged, and, at times, scandalous means": Stanley Hoffmann's verdict on the US invasion of Iraq carries an uneasy echo of his view of the US failure in Vietnam.
Though it is not Vietnam, for Hoffmann the Iraq war is still a sign that America has gone in the wrong direction. In this book, he describes the many ways in which the Bush administration, particularly in its unilateralist determination to make war on Saddam Hussein, has undertaken a "wrecking operation" on post?World War II schemes of international cooperation, and he suggests a process by which democracies might reach agreement on when to collectively intervene in aid of nations suffering under oppressive regimes. Hoffmann goes on to analyze how the US risks being trapped in Iraq, and offers his ideas on the most effective strategies for both withdrawing US forces and helping the country achieve democracy and stability under multilateral supervision.
"Too often," he finds, "this administration has given, to many Americans and even more to foreigners, the impression that it is drunk with power...." If we are to combat terrorism effectively, we should strive not for an arrogant American empire but for "a return to reality, to good sense, and to morality."
Though it is not Vietnam, for Hoffmann the Iraq war is still a sign that America has gone in the wrong direction. In this book, he describes the many ways in which the Bush administration, particularly in its unilateralist determination to make war on Saddam Hussein, has undertaken a "wrecking operation" on post?World War II schemes of international cooperation, and he suggests a process by which democracies might reach agreement on when to collectively intervene in aid of nations suffering under oppressive regimes. Hoffmann goes on to analyze how the US risks being trapped in Iraq, and offers his ideas on the most effective strategies for both withdrawing US forces and helping the country achieve democracy and stability under multilateral supervision.
"Too often," he finds, "this administration has given, to many Americans and even more to foreigners, the impression that it is drunk with power...." If we are to combat terrorism effectively, we should strive not for an arrogant American empire but for "a return to reality, to good sense, and to morality."
75 pages, Paperback
First published November 10, 2004
14 people want to read
About the author
Stanley Hoffmann
68 books18 followersHoffmann was born in Vienna in 1928, and moved to France with his family the following year. A French citizen since 1947, Hoffmann spent his childhood between Paris and Nice before studying at Sciences Po. He followed an academic career in the United States and founded Harvard's Center for European Studies in 1968.
Hoffmann also participated as a political expert in the film The World According to Bush, dealing with the vicissitudes of the Bush administration after the 2000 presidential election.
Hoffmann also participated as a political expert in the film The World According to Bush, dealing with the vicissitudes of the Bush administration after the 2000 presidential election.
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December 12, 2019
Organizing and cleaning a bookshelf. I found this. In another life, it was on a bookshelf in my downstairs powder room in another house and it is short so one could sit and shit and read!
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