Synopses & Reviews
Since World War II, the United States has repeatedly posited itself as a defender of democracy, using its military might to promote freedom abroad even as it ascended to the status of the world’s only superpower. The answer to almost every international problem, it seems, has been American military intervention—which is always pitched as a disinterested, noble attempt to deal with a crisis.
In America’s Deadliest Export, William Blum mounts a powerful case against this belief—and against postwar American foreign policy in general. Stripping away the lies that have hidden America’s true agenda, Blum reveals the real goals—and brutal consequences—of American militarism.
“A fireball of terse information—one of our best muckrakers.”—Oliver Stone
“This book deals with unpleasant subjects yet it is a pleasure to read. Blum continues to provide us with convincing critiques of US global policy in a freshly informed and engaging way.”—Michael Parenti, author of The Face of Imperialism
“With good cheer and humor Blum guides us toward understanding that our government does not mean well. Once we've grasped that, we're far more capable of effectively doing good ourselves.”—David Swanson, author of War Is a Lie
Review
“If you only read one book about global politics this year make it this one.”
Review
“As in the past, in this remarkable collection Blum concentrates on matters of great current significance and does not pull his punches. They land, backed with evidence and acute analysis. It is a perspective on the world that Westerners should ponder, and take as a guideline for action.”
Synopsis
In Afghanistan, Iraq, and South Africa there has been the promise of hope, but the reality of these divided societies is that they are still waiting for real freedom. In Palestine, the cycle of violence continues. And the island of Diego Garcia, in the Indian Ocean, is a microcosm of the ruthlessness of great powers. The island was sold by the British to the American military in the 1960s. The indigenous population, descended from slaves, were forcibly removed to the slums of Port Louis in Mauritius. They have continued to fight for the return of their homeland ever since; three years ago the High Court granted them the right of return, but this has subsequently been blocked. The island remains the United States' third-biggest military base, a base from which they are able to launch attacks against the Middle East. Freedom Next Time is, in the words of Pilger, "a guide to the unprecedented threat in our midst and those who resist it on all our behalf."
Synopsis
Worldrenowned journalist John Pilger looks at five nations (Palestine, Diego Garcia, Afghanistan, Iraq, and South Africa) that have undergone long and painful struggles for freedom, yet are still waiting for its realization.
Synopsis
For over sixty-five years, the United States war machine has been on automatic pilot. Since World War II we have been conditioned to believe that America's motives in 'exporting' democracy are honorable, even noble. In this startling and provocative book, William Blum, a leading dissident chronicler of US foreign policy and the author of controversial bestseller Rogue State, argues that nothing could be further from the truth. Moreover, unless this fallacy is unlearned, and until people understand fully the worldwide suffering American policy has caused, we will never be able to stop the monster.
About the Author
John Pilger is a world-renowned journalist, author and documentary filmmaker, who began his career in 1958 in his homeland, Australia, before moving to London in the 1960s.
He regards eye-witness as the essence of good journalism. He has been a foreign correspondent and a front-line war reporter, beginning with the Vietnam war in 1967. He is an impassioned critic of foreign military and economic adventures by Western governments.
"It is too easy," he says, "for Western journalists to see humanity in terms of its usefulness to 'our' interests and to follow government agendas that ordain good and bad tyrants, worthy and unworthy victims and present 'our' policies as always benign when the opposite is usually true. It's the journalist's job, first of all, to look in the mirror of his own society."
He believes a journalist also ought to be a guardian of the public memory and often quotes Milan Kundera: "The struggle of people against power is the struggle of memory against forgetting."
His website is: www.johnpilger.com
Table of Contents
Preface to the 2014 edition
Introduction
1. US foreign policy vs the world
2. Terrorism
3. Iraq
4. Afghanistan
5. Iran
6. George W. Bush
7. Condoleezza Rice
8. Human rights, civil liberties, and torture
9. WikiLeaks
10. Conspiracies
11. Yugoslavia
12. Libya
13. Latin America
14. Cuba
15. The Cold War and anti-communism
16. The 1960s
17. Ideology and society
18. Our precious environment
19. The problem with capitalism
20. Media
21. Barack Obama
22. Patriotism
23. Dissent and resistance in America
24. Religion
25. Laughing despite the empire
26. But what can we do?