Description
Book SynopsisEight years after 9/11 and in the shadow of two protracted U.S. military campaigns in the Middle East, the enemy is not only undefeated but emboldened and resurgent. What went wrong_and what should we do going forward? Winning the Unwinnable War shows how our own policy ideas led to 9/11 and then crippled our response in the Middle East, and it makes the case for an unsettling conclusion: By subordinating military victory to perverse, allegedly moral constraints, Washington''s policy has undermined our national security. Owing to the significant influence of Just War Theory and neoconservatism, the Bush administration consciously put the imperative of shielding civilians and bringing them elections above the goal of eliminating real threats to our security. Consequently, this policy left our enemies stronger, and America weaker, than before. The dominant alternative to Bush-esque idealism in foreign policy_so-called realism_has made a strong comeback under the tenure of Barack Obama.
Trade ReviewFighting for victory may sound obvious but Journo, Epstein, and Brook show how remote the goal of victory is from current U.S. policy in the Middle East, which they characterize as based on 'a welfare mission to serve the poor and oppressed.' Instead of this unwinnable approach, the authors offer a robust and unapologetic re-assertion of American national interests, and they do so with a bracing eloquence that left this reader elated. -- Daniel Pipes, director, Middle East Forum; author of Militant Islam Comes to America
As a Syrian woman who experienced life in an Islamic despotic society, I wonder whether the American government and the American public understand the gravity of the current danger emanating from radical Islam—the most vicious adversary the West has ever faced. This important book provides US policy makers with valuable ideas on how to win the war against Islamic totalitarianism and its insidious encroachment into our Western society. -- Wafa Sultan, psychiatrist and author of A God Who Hates
Table of ContentsChapter 1 Introduction: An Unwinnable War? Part 2 Part I. The Enemy Chapter 3 Chapter One. The Road to 9/11 Chapter 4 Chapter Two. What Motivates the Jihad on America Part 5 Part II. America's Self-Crippled Response to 9/11 Chapter 6 Chapter Three. The "Forward Strategy" for Failure Chapter 7 Chapter Four. "Just War Theory" vs. American Self-Defense Chapter 8 Chapter Five. Neoconservative Foreign Policy: An Autopsy Part 9 Part III. From Here, Where Do We Go? Chapter 10 Chapter Six. Eight Years After 9/11: An Appraisal Chapter 11 Chapter Seven. The Road to Victory: A Radical Change in U.S. Mideast Policy
