American Disasters, Or The Books I'm Reading Lately
I cannot recommend strongly enough the following two books. Both are maddening for so many reasons.
The first, American Theocracy, I've posted about before, but I wasn't finished with it. [In an effort of full disclosure, I haven't finished either of these yet, but that's not because I haven't been trying.] I've made it another 100 pages or so since that last posting and the compelling case being made about the hijacking of the Republican Party by the Christian Conservative Movement is honestly a little disturbing. These aren't the Christians of "turn the other cheek" or "do unto others..." or "let the one who is without sin cast the first stone" ideas. These are the "we hate fags," the "God granted us dominion over the earth so let's drill for some oil," and "in case of rapture this car will be empty" type of Christians. Also, the ones who see "caucasian" as "supreme being." Honestly, there are three great chapters on whether or not the South wound up winning the Civil War, since the ideology of those who were running the South then is now closely aligned with those who run the country now. Incredibly disturbing ideas, all backed by careful research--not from some crazy, left-wing, anti-Republican nutbag, but from a former Nixon advisor.
The second book I just started and tore through 150 pages (of almost 500) in a very brief period of time, even though it's fairly dense. Cobra II tells the inside story of the invasion and occupation of Iraq. I almost stopped reading it around 7 pages in because it made me so angry at Donald Rumsfeld. I have never served in the US Armed Forces. However, my Grandfather graduated from West Point in the Class of 1945 and fought in Korea. My father graduated from West Point in the Class of 1968 and fought in Vietnam. My older brother in law graduated from West Point in 1992 and got out before having to go to Kosovo or Mogadishu. My younger brother in law graduated from West Point in 2000 and flew Apache attack helicopters in the siege on Baghdad. My younger sister graduated from West Point and was stationed in Afghanistan as a Military Police. I earned an appointment to West Point but was medically disqualified due to "a history of allergic reactions to bee stings." (Thank you, DODMERB--Dept. of Defense Medical Examination Review Board). Also, we lived at West Point from 1977 to 1981 while my father was on the faculty, and again from 1989 until 1992. My father is currently retired from active duty (LTC Ret.) and serves as the Dean of the Marine Corps Staff College at Quantico, VA.
So even though I've never personally served, I've been surrounded by the military my entire life. And the first 100 pages of Cobra II made me insanely angry at Donald Rumsfeld and the rest of the civilian "CEO" style leaders who thought and perhaps continue to think that we can win a war on the cheap. All the talk from George W. Bush about "using the information the military provided" about troop strength, etc. is revealed to be just talk. A long line of career military officers made recommendations about the number of troops it would take to win the war and sustain the peace, but Donald Rumsfeld castigated, ignored, micromanaged, and disregarded anything that didn't fit his preconceived notions of how he wanted to do things. Honestly, it's amazing to read the details. The book is written in a fairly even-handed style...a "just the facts" approach that lays everything out for you: Cheney's viewpoint, Powell's viewpoint, Tommy Franks' viewpoint, etc. It puts everything on the table and lets you decide what to make of it. It's fascinating.
Oh, and also about how Iraq was on the short list even before September 11. Please, read this book.
The first, American Theocracy, I've posted about before, but I wasn't finished with it. [In an effort of full disclosure, I haven't finished either of these yet, but that's not because I haven't been trying.] I've made it another 100 pages or so since that last posting and the compelling case being made about the hijacking of the Republican Party by the Christian Conservative Movement is honestly a little disturbing. These aren't the Christians of "turn the other cheek" or "do unto others..." or "let the one who is without sin cast the first stone" ideas. These are the "we hate fags," the "God granted us dominion over the earth so let's drill for some oil," and "in case of rapture this car will be empty" type of Christians. Also, the ones who see "caucasian" as "supreme being." Honestly, there are three great chapters on whether or not the South wound up winning the Civil War, since the ideology of those who were running the South then is now closely aligned with those who run the country now. Incredibly disturbing ideas, all backed by careful research--not from some crazy, left-wing, anti-Republican nutbag, but from a former Nixon advisor.
The second book I just started and tore through 150 pages (of almost 500) in a very brief period of time, even though it's fairly dense. Cobra II tells the inside story of the invasion and occupation of Iraq. I almost stopped reading it around 7 pages in because it made me so angry at Donald Rumsfeld. I have never served in the US Armed Forces. However, my Grandfather graduated from West Point in the Class of 1945 and fought in Korea. My father graduated from West Point in the Class of 1968 and fought in Vietnam. My older brother in law graduated from West Point in 1992 and got out before having to go to Kosovo or Mogadishu. My younger brother in law graduated from West Point in 2000 and flew Apache attack helicopters in the siege on Baghdad. My younger sister graduated from West Point and was stationed in Afghanistan as a Military Police. I earned an appointment to West Point but was medically disqualified due to "a history of allergic reactions to bee stings." (Thank you, DODMERB--Dept. of Defense Medical Examination Review Board). Also, we lived at West Point from 1977 to 1981 while my father was on the faculty, and again from 1989 until 1992. My father is currently retired from active duty (LTC Ret.) and serves as the Dean of the Marine Corps Staff College at Quantico, VA.
So even though I've never personally served, I've been surrounded by the military my entire life. And the first 100 pages of Cobra II made me insanely angry at Donald Rumsfeld and the rest of the civilian "CEO" style leaders who thought and perhaps continue to think that we can win a war on the cheap. All the talk from George W. Bush about "using the information the military provided" about troop strength, etc. is revealed to be just talk. A long line of career military officers made recommendations about the number of troops it would take to win the war and sustain the peace, but Donald Rumsfeld castigated, ignored, micromanaged, and disregarded anything that didn't fit his preconceived notions of how he wanted to do things. Honestly, it's amazing to read the details. The book is written in a fairly even-handed style...a "just the facts" approach that lays everything out for you: Cheney's viewpoint, Powell's viewpoint, Tommy Franks' viewpoint, etc. It puts everything on the table and lets you decide what to make of it. It's fascinating.
Oh, and also about how Iraq was on the short list even before September 11. Please, read this book.