Squandered Victory

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Squandered Victory

Author : Larry Diamond
Publisher : Macmillan
Page : 420 pages
File Size : 45,5 Mb
Release : 2007-04-01
Category : History
ISBN : 9781429900263

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Squandered Victory by Larry Diamond Pdf

America's leading expert on democracy delivers the first insider's account of the U.S. occupation of Iraq-a sobering and critical assessment of America's effort to implant democracy In the fall of 2003, Stanford professor Larry Diamond received a call from Condoleezza Rice, asking if he would spend several months in Baghdad as an adviser to the American occupation authorities. Diamond had not been a supporter of the war in Iraq, but he felt that the task of building a viable democracy was a worthy goal now that Saddam Hussein's regime had been overthrown. He also thought he could do some good by putting his academic expertise to work in the real world. So in January 2004 he went to Iraq, and the next three months proved to be more of an education than he bargained for. Diamond found himself part of one of the most audacious undertakings of our time. In Squandered Victory he shows how the American effort to establish democracy in Iraq was hampered not only by insurgents and terrorists but also by a long chain of miscalculations, missed opportunities, and acts of ideological blindness that helped assure that the transition to independence would be neither peaceful nor entirely democratic. He brings us inside the Green Zone, into a world where ideals were often trumped by power politics and where U.S. officials routinely issued edicts that later had to be squared (at great cost) with Iraqi realities. His provocative and vivid account makes clear that Iraq-and by extension, the United States-will spend many years climbing its way out of the hole that was dug during the fourteen months of the American occupation.

The Age of Illusions

Author : Andrew Bacevich
Publisher : Metropolitan Books
Page : 224 pages
File Size : 40,7 Mb
Release : 2020-01-07
Category : History
ISBN : 9781250175090

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The Age of Illusions by Andrew Bacevich Pdf

A thought-provoking and penetrating account of the post-Cold war follies and delusions that culminated in the age of Donald Trump from the bestselling author of The Limits of Power. When the Cold War ended with the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Washington establishment felt it had prevailed in a world-historical struggle. Our side had won, a verdict that was both decisive and irreversible. For the world’s “indispensable nation,” its “sole superpower,” the future looked very bright. History, having brought the United States to the very summit of power and prestige, had validated American-style liberal democratic capitalism as universally applicable. In the decades to come, Americans would put that claim to the test. They would embrace the promise of globalization as a source of unprecedented wealth while embarking on wide-ranging military campaigns to suppress disorder and enforce American values abroad, confident in the ability of U.S. forces to defeat any foe. Meanwhile, they placed all their bets on the White House to deliver on the promise of their Cold War triumph: unequaled prosperity, lasting peace, and absolute freedom. In The Age of Illusions, bestselling author Andrew Bacevich takes us from that moment of seemingly ultimate victory to the age of Trump, telling an epic tale of folly and delusion. Writing with his usual eloquence and vast knowledge, he explains how, within a quarter of a century, the United States ended up with gaping inequality, permanent war, moral confusion, and an increasingly angry and alienated population, as well, of course, as the strangest president in American history.

Squandered Victory

Author : James H. Hallas
Publisher : Praeger
Page : 328 pages
File Size : 49,6 Mb
Release : 1995-01-24
Category : History
ISBN : STANFORD:36105009783288

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Squandered Victory by James H. Hallas Pdf

This is the first book ever devoted entirely to the St. Mihiel operation and its ramifications. It details Pershing's struggle to form an independent American army in France and the importance of the St. Mihiel operation from both political and military perspectives. It links historical events and details in a way that has never been done on this subject, pulling from a variety of sources to depict motivations, events, and political and military thought. It supports the conclusion—debated by historians and military men for over 75 years—that Pershing might have been able to end the war in September 1918, if not held back by the machinations of the Allies.

Post-Saddam Iraq

Author : Amnon Cohen,Noga Efrati
Publisher : Apollo Books
Page : 348 pages
File Size : 46,5 Mb
Release : 2011
Category : History
ISBN : 1845194675

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Post-Saddam Iraq by Amnon Cohen,Noga Efrati Pdf

Post-Saddam Iraq comprehensively describes and analyzes the major developments in Iraq, from the US-led invasion up to 2010. The internal political scene - developing along ethnic-sectarian and religious lines (Shi'is and Sunnis, Kurds and Arabs) - is discussed in the context of a re-emerging Iraqi national identity. Findings and analyses are based on a systematic study of the Iraqi and Middle Eastern local media, which provides the perspective as to what is taking place in the internal political and social dialogue. Other major developments are also addressed, including women's rights and economic trends. Post-Saddam Iraq offers an important, international dimension to Iraq's post-war development through discussion of: a) the central role played by the Iranian regime and its deep and multi-faceted involvement in the Iraqi internal scene; b) the ambivalent relations with Turkey, which concurrently serves as the main terrestrial channel of trade and economic ties with the world (oil, financial investments); and c) Iraq's marginal position in the affairs of the Arab world. The political and constitutional developments within Iraq are discussed up to the most recent events in late 2010. Nine months after the general elections, a political tug-of-war between the major protagonists has not reached a conclusion, with the intensive involvement of the US behind the scenes attempting to reach an "inclusive" solution. It remains to be seen whether the former centralist policies of the prime minister-to-be will prevail in a state which is gradually disposing of the US military presence, assuming command over its unsolved problems of security and daily life, as well as of its future stability.

Anatomy of Victory

Author : John D. Caldwell
Publisher : Rowman & Littlefield
Page : 568 pages
File Size : 43,7 Mb
Release : 2018-11-09
Category : History
ISBN : 9781538114780

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Anatomy of Victory by John D. Caldwell Pdf

This groundbreaking book provides the first systematic comparison of America’s modern wars and why they were won or lost. John D. Caldwell uses the World War II victory as the historical benchmark for evaluating the success and failure of later conflicts. Unlike WWII, the Korean, Vietnam, and Iraqi Wars were limited, but they required enormous national commitments, produced no lasting victories, and generated bitter political controversies. Caldwell comprehensively examines these four wars through the lens of a strategic architecture to explain how and why their outcomes were so dramatically different. He defines a strategic architecture as an interlinked set of continually evolving policies, strategies, and operations by which combatant states work toward a desired end. Policy defines the high-level goals a nation seeks to achieve once it initiates a conflict or finds itself drawn into one. Policy makers direct a broad course of action and strive to control the initiative. When they make decisions, they have to respond to unforeseen conditions to guide and determine future decisions. Effective leaders are skilled at organizing constituencies they need to succeed and communicating to them convincingly. Strategy means employing whatever resources are available to achieve policy goals in situations that are dynamic as conflicts change quickly over time. Operations are the actions that occur when politicians, soldiers, and diplomats execute plans. A strategic architecture, Caldwell argues, is thus not a static blueprint but a dynamic vision of how a state can succeed or fail in a conflict.

The Struggle for Iraq

Author : Thomas M. Renahan
Publisher : U of Nebraska Press
Page : 532 pages
File Size : 55,6 Mb
Release : 2017-06-01
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9781612348827

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The Struggle for Iraq by Thomas M. Renahan Pdf

A political scientist's firsthand report on Iraq and his work with his Iraqi staff to promote democracy and fight corruption, from the days of the Coalition Provisional Authority to the present, and his recommendations for American policy-makers based on the lessons learned.

Constitution Making Under Occupation

Author : Andrew Arato
Publisher : Columbia University Press
Page : 377 pages
File Size : 54,8 Mb
Release : 2009-03-13
Category : History
ISBN : 9780231512435

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Constitution Making Under Occupation by Andrew Arato Pdf

The attempt in 2004 to draft an interim constitution in Iraq and the effort to enact a permanent one in 2005 were unintended outcomes of the American occupation, which first sought to impose a constitution by its agents. This two-stage constitution-making paradigm, implemented in a wholly unplanned move by the Iraqis and their American sponsors, formed a kind of compromise between the populist-democratic project of Shi'ite clerics and America's external interference. As long as it was used in a coherent and legitimate way, the method held promise. Unfortunately, the logic of external imposition and political exclusion compromised the negotiations. Andrew Arato is the first person to record this historic process and analyze its special problems. He compares the drafting of the Iraqi constitution to similar, externally imposed constitutional revolutions by the United States, especially in Japan and Germany, and identifies the political missteps that contributed to problems of learning and legitimacy. Instead of claiming that the right model of constitution making would have maintained stability in Iraq, Arato focuses on the fragile opportunity for democratization that was strengthened only slightly by the methods used to draft a constitution. Arato contends that this event would have benefited greatly from an overall framework of internationalization, and he argues that a better set of guidelines (rather than the obsolete Hague and Geneva regulations) should be followed in the future. With access to an extensive body of literature, Arato highlights the difficulty of exporting democracy to a country that opposes all such foreign designs and fundamentally disagrees on matters of political identity.

Colin Powell

Author : Christopher D. O'Sullivan
Publisher : Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Page : 236 pages
File Size : 40,9 Mb
Release : 2009-04-16
Category : History
ISBN : 9780742565357

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Colin Powell by Christopher D. O'Sullivan Pdf

This exploration of Powell's career and character reveals several broad themes crucial to American foreign policy and yields insights into the evolution of American foreign and defense policy in the post-Vietnam, post-Cold War eras. This book explains Powell's diplomatic style and its place in the American foreign policy tradition and his involvement in the most important debates over foreign and defense policy during the past two decades.

Losing Iraq

Author : David L. Phillips
Publisher : Basic Books
Page : 304 pages
File Size : 48,7 Mb
Release : 2009-04-28
Category : History
ISBN : 9780786736201

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Losing Iraq by David L. Phillips Pdf

According to conventional wisdom, Iraq has suffered because the Bush administration had no plan for reconstruction. That's not the case; the State Department's Future of Iraq group planned out the situation carefully and extensively, and Middle East expert David Phillips was part of this group. White House ideologues and imprudent Pentagon officials decided simply to ignore those plans. The administration only listened to what it wanted to hear. Losing Iraq doesn't't just criticize the policies of unilateralism, preemption, and possible deception that launched the war; it documents the process of returning sovereignty to an occupied Iraq. Unique, as well, are Phillips's personal accounts of dissension within the administration. The problems encountered in Iraq are troubling not only in themselves but also because they bode ill for other nation-building efforts in which the U.S. may become mired through this administration's doctrine of unilateral, preemptive war. Losing Iraq looks into the future of America's foreign policy with a clear-eyed critique of the problems that loom ahead.

The Uses and Misuses of Politics

Author : William G. Mayer
Publisher : University Press of Kansas
Page : 420 pages
File Size : 52,9 Mb
Release : 2021-03-29
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9780700630530

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The Uses and Misuses of Politics by William G. Mayer Pdf

The Uses and Misuses of Politics is a detailed examination of the politics of George W. Bush’s presidency, focusing on the work—and the mistakes—of presidential political advisor Karl Rove. In his role as political advisor Karl Rove stands apart from his numerous counterparts in modern American politics in three major ways. The first measure of Rove’s distinctiveness is the totality of his direction over Bush’s political career. Simply put, George W. Bush never won an election, of any kind, in which Rove was not the dominant, even sole campaign strategist A second important difference between Karl Rove and other major presidential campaign strategists was the role that Rove played in helping formulate policy after Bush became president. In fact, Rove became the first presidential aide to both provide political advice to a sitting president while at the same time controlling the policy levers inside the White House, especially as an advocate for his own agenda in the areas of domestic policy. Finally, Karl Rove is noteworthy for the scope of his ambitions: his goal for the Bush presidency was to create a durable Republican majority that would dominate American politics for the next several decades. Even though theories of party systems and realignments have received serious challenges, Karl Rove was a believer; providing a key insight into how he approached his work with the Bush presidency. Where previous realignments were the result of historical accidents and recognized only after the fact, Karl Rove believed he could engineer the next one. In The Uses and Misuses of Politics William G. Mayer analyzes Karl Rove’s performance as presidential advisor: the roles he played, the advice he gave, and how the Republican Party fared with Rove as its principal strategist. By offering the reader a comprehensive assessment, Mayer provides valuable insight into the larger, enduring, and critical questions: What is the proper role of politics in the contemporary presidency? When does politics enhance a nation’s long-term welfare, and what does it detract from it? And what positive contributions can political advisors make to a modern-day president?

Social Difference and Constitutionalism in Pan-Asia

Author : Susan H. Williams
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
Page : 377 pages
File Size : 51,8 Mb
Release : 2014-02-10
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9781107729483

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Social Difference and Constitutionalism in Pan-Asia by Susan H. Williams Pdf

In many countries, social differences, such as religion or race and ethnicity, threaten the stability of the social and legal order. This book addresses the role of constitutions and constitutionalism in dealing with the challenge of difference. The book brings together lawyers, political scientists, historians, religious studies scholars, and area studies experts to consider how constitutions address issues of difference across 'Pan-Asia', a wide swath of the world that runs from the Middle East, through Asia, and into Oceania. The book's multidisciplinary and comparative approach makes it unique. The book is organized into five sections, each devoted to constitutional approaches to a particular type of difference - religion, ethnicity/race, urban/rural divisions, language, and gender and sexual orientation - in two or more countries in Pan Asia. The introduction offers a framework for thinking comprehensively about the many ways constitutionalism interacts with difference.

Elite Theory and the 2003 Iraq Occupation by the United States

Author : Bamo Nouri
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 234 pages
File Size : 54,5 Mb
Release : 2021-09-09
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9781000416688

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Elite Theory and the 2003 Iraq Occupation by the United States by Bamo Nouri Pdf

This book locates US elites as members of corporate elite networks and drivers of corporate elite interests, arguing that studying the social sources of US power plays an important part in understanding the nature of their decisions in US foreign policy. Exploring the decisions taken by American elites on the Iraq War, the author argues that the decisions and agendas US elites pursued in Iraq were driven by corporate elite interests – embedded in them as individuals and in groups through the corporate elite networks they were rooted in – which they prioritised, using democracy promotion as a cover up. Using elite theory, membership network analysis and content analysis, this book explains who these elites were, how their backgrounds and social influences impacted their world-views, and what this looked like in a detailed exploration of their decision-making on the ground in Iraq. Nouri examines the nature of US power, what drives it, what it looks like and its legacies. This volume provides valuable understandings and lessons to scholars and students of International Relations studying democracy, US foreign policy, post-colonialism, elite theory, US imperialism, neoliberalism, orientalism, Iraqi politics, and the making of the Iraq constitution.

Occupational Hazards

Author : David M. Edelstein
Publisher : Cornell University Press
Page : 249 pages
File Size : 43,7 Mb
Release : 2011-07-20
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9780801457326

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Occupational Hazards by David M. Edelstein Pdf

Few would contest that the U.S. occupation of Iraq is a clear example of just how fraught a military occupation can become. In Occupational Hazards, David M. Edelstein elucidates the occasional successes of military occupations and their more frequent failures. Edelstein has identified twenty-six cases since 1815 in which an outside power seized control of a territory where the occupying party had no long-term claim on sovereignty. In a book that has implications for present-day policy, he draws evidence from such historical cases as well as from four current occupations—Bosnia, Kosovo, Afghanistan, and Iraq—where the outcome is not yet known. Occupation is difficult, in Edelstein's view, because ambitious goals require considerable time and resources, yet both the occupied population and the occupying power want occupation to end quickly and inexpensively; in drawn-out occupations, impatience grows and resources dwindle. This combination sabotages the occupying power's ability to accomplish two tasks: convince an occupied population to suppress its nationalist desires and sustain its own commitment to the occupation. Structural conditions and strategic choices play crucial roles in the success or failure of an occupation. In describing those factors, Edelstein prescribes a course of action for the future.

The International Humanitarian Order

Author : Michael Barnett
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 240 pages
File Size : 53,5 Mb
Release : 2009-12-16
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9781135190552

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The International Humanitarian Order by Michael Barnett Pdf

One of the genuinely remarkable but relatively unnoticed developments of the last half-century is the blossoming of an international humanitarian order – a complex of norms, informal institutions, laws, and discourses that legitimate and compel various kinds of interventions by state and nonstate actors with the explicit goal of preserving and protecting human life. For those who have sacrificed to build this order, and for those who have come to rely on it, the international humanitarian represents a towering achievement cause for sobriety. What kind of international humanitarian order is being imagined, created and practiced? To what extent are the international agents of this order deliverers of progress or disappointment? Featuring previously published and original essays, this collection offers a critical assessment of the practices and politics of global ethical interventions in the context of the post-cold war transformation of the international humanitarian order. After an introduction that introduces the reader to the concept and the significance of the international humanitarian order, Section I explores the braided relationship between international order and the UN, whiles Section II critically examines international ethics in practice. The Conclusion reflects on these and other themes, asking why the international humanitarian order retains such a loyal following despite its flaws, what is the relationship of this order to power and politics, how such relationships implicate our understanding of moral progress, and how the international humanitarian order challenges both practitioners and scholars to rethink the meaning of their vocations.

Thunder and Flames

Author : Edward G. Lengel
Publisher : University Press of Kansas
Page : 470 pages
File Size : 51,8 Mb
Release : 2023-06-16
Category : History
ISBN : 9780700627837

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Thunder and Flames by Edward G. Lengel Pdf

November 1917. The American troops were poorly trained, deficient in military equipment and doctrine, not remotely ready for armed conflict on a large scale—and they’d arrived on the Western front to help the French push back the Germans. The story of what happened next—the American Expeditionary Force’s trial by fire on the brutal battlefields of France—is told in full for the first time in Thunder and Flames. Where history has given us some perspective on the individual battles of the period—at Cantigny, Chateau Thierry, Belleau Wood, the Marne River, Soissons, and little-known Fismette—they appear here as part of a larger series of interconnected operations, all conducted by Americans new to the lethal killing fields of World War I and guided by the battle-tested French. Following the AEF from their initial landing to their emergence as an independent army in late September 1918, this book presents a complex picture of how, learning warfare on the fly, sometimes with devastating consequences, the American force played a critical role in blunting and then rolling back the German army’s drive toward Paris. The picture that emerges is at once sweeping in scope and rich in detail, with firsthand testimony conjuring the real mud and blood of the combat that Edward Lengel so vividly describes. Official reports and documents provide the strategic and historical context for these ground-level accounts, from the perspective of the Germans as well as the Americans and French. Battle by battle, Thunder and Flames reveals the cost of the inadequacies in U.S. training, equipment, logistics, intelligence, and command, along with the rifts in the Franco-American military marriage. But it also shows how, by trial and error, through luck and ingenuity, the AEF swiftly became the independent fighting force of General John “Blackjack” Pershing’s long-held dream—its divisions ultimately among the most combat-effective military forces to see the war through.