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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Informative and Original, Aug 15 2006
This is a very informative book and a must read for anyone interested in understanding why the Bush administration is so prone to launching wars in the oil-rich Middle East region. The author, a renowned economist, is very knowledgeable about the economics and domestic politics that support such warmongering efforts. He identifies the pro-Israel Neocon movement and its alliance with the lunatics of the religious Right as important forces in the push toward involving the U.S. in wars abroad. The military-industrial complex and the strategic importance of Middle East oil are represented by Vice President Dick Cheney in the Bush administration, and are also prime movers of war.
Probably the most original part of this book is its chronology of empires and how Western civilization started its ascendency after the fall of Constantinople in 1453. This chapter (chap. 16) is worth buying the book in itself. The author's style is direct and pulls no punches. An excellent book.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fundamental Truth about U.S. Foreign Policy, Sep 1 2006
I am deeply indebted to Dr. Tremblay for helping me understand the basics of geopolitics, as it relates to current affairs, especially regarding how domestic politics in the U.S. functions, how foreign policy is an extenion of domestic politics, and how American foreign wars nowadays are not defensive wars but wars of aggression. Here are some of the most crucial points the author makes:
1- President George W. Bush intended to invade Iraq even before he became president. In 1999, for example, he told his biographer Mickey Herskowitz: "If I have a chance to invade (Iraq), if I have that much capital, I'm not going to waste it. I'm going to get everything passed that I want to get passed and I'm going to have a successful presidency." In fact, former Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill has confirmed that the discussion of a plan to oust Saddam Hussein and invade Iraq was the main topic from day one of the new Bush administration, in January 2001, nine months before the events of 9/11.
2- Bush's obsession with invading Iraq squared perfectly well with the 1997 Neocon Project for the New American Century (PNAC) and its agenda for transforming the Middle East in order to enhance Israel's security in the region. The pro-Israel cabal within and outside the government went full speed in pushing for a war against Iraq, on the flimsiest of reasons, most of them made up from scratch.
3- When Vice President Dick Cheney's energy advisory panel tabled its 163-page report on May 16, 2001, Middle East oil policy came to reinforce Bush's and the Neocons' desire to invade Iraq.
These facts go a long way toward explaining why the U.S. occupation of Iraq lasts so long, costs so much and has no end in sight. If you want to learn the fundamental truth about the Iraq war and other wars in the Middle East, Dr. Tremblay's book is what you need. It's a book that's easy to read and understand.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
AMERICANS' JUSTIFIED ANGER, Dec 27 2005
By A Customer
I have the weird feeling that the content of this book and events currently taking place make for only one big picture.Faced with a president who is a compulsive liar, if not worse, many Americans realize that the Bush administration is unpredictable and could bring disasters upon their country. It was enough that they were misled into a war with cheap lies, but learning that the Bush adminstration discards long established laws and spies on Americans without necessary court warrants has raised anger even more. Now Bush says "Trust me". I doubt he will be heard. Bush is a threat to the United States because he does not respect the rule of law. Bush has already suspended the many centuries old right of 'Habeas Corpus'. He does not respect the Geneva Conventions and international law. He wants to torture people in secret. And now, he wants plenary powers to do as he pleases within the United States and to waive laws at his own discretion, while bypassing the courts. This is very troubling. I tell my friends and relatives in the USA: You better wake up before it's too late.
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