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Overview
The horror of September 11 remains indelible. The destruction of that day--and its causes and effects--continues to haunt us. How could the most powerful nation in the world be so vulnerable? How will the US government wage its declared war on terror--and where will that war take us?Richard Falk, an international law scholar and veteran of human rights struggles around the world, brings to these questions the wisdom of decades of passionate involvement in world politics. Firs outlining what is new and different about the challenge of megaterrorism, Falk thoughtfully teases out the implications of the various US responses: the war in Afghanistan, as declared and as carried out; the extension of the war to Saddam Hussein's Iraq; the domestic focus on security and patriotism; the intensified unilateralism of the Bush administration.
As an independently minded scholar whose interest in politics has always been in enhancing the well-being of people throughout the world, Richard Falk brings a thoughtful and necessary perspective to the current crisis. His political and moral imagination, driven by his humble insistence on both realism and hope, make his words ones to heed for anyone who--despite the news--still wants to imagine a safer, fairer, more humane future for all the world's peoples.
Synopsis
Arguing that true "homeland security" is unlikely to be achieved with current policy assumptions and actions, Falk (international law, Princeton U.) assesses the U.S. government's response to September 11, 2001 and reflects on possibilities for minimizing terrorist threats. Much of his analysis is based on "just war" theory that, in Falk's formulation, judges the war in Afghanistan to have been necessary (if flawed) but sees no necessity for war against Iraq. Also addressed is the necessity to reformulate American foreign policy to minimize hostility, with a particular emphasis placed on providing a "fair solution" to the Palestinian problem. In order to achieve these goals, Falk says, it is important to challenge the hyper-patriotism that has gripped the United States. Annotation c. Book News, Inc.,Portland, OR
Future Survey
A reflection on ways in which the war on terrorism might be won and lost.