Synopses & Reviews
Burbach and Tarbell argue that George W. Bush has fundamentally changed America's place in the world--for the worse. Hijacked by neoconservatives and the petro-military complex, the nation that once broke from an empire is swiftly becoming an empire itself. Fed by wars in Afghanistan and Iraq; a never-ending fear of terrorism; mushrooming defense expenditures; and the slow but steady erosion of civil liberties on the home front, is this empire in danger of becoming too large to survive? What are the costs--in lives at home and abroad--of failure? Who is driving these policies? And--most important of all--can Americans change direction and restore America's reputation in the world as the shining "city on the hill"?
Review
"
Imperial Overstretch is a brilliantly argued narrative of the past, present and future of the American global imperial project. Indispensable reading!"-author of
Declining World Order: America's Imperial Geopolitics"Roger Burbach and Jim Tarbell provide us with indispensable insights into why, for all its bluster and armed might, the American empire has feet of clay. Provocative and comprehensive, this book is must reading for the global resistance movement."-Walden Bello, 2003 Recipient, Right Livelihood Award (Alternative Nobel Prize)
"A brilliant expose of savage greed and imperial hubris masquerading as the United States of America."-Mike Davis, University of California at Irvine
"Imperial Overstretch is indispensable reading for anyone seeking to understand the underlying motives for the US invasion of Iraq. Placing the Iraqi occupation in the context of the administration's imperial design, the authors highlight the fatal flaws in its' destructive drive for global domination."-Michael Klare, author of Blood and Oil: The Dangers and Consequences of America's Petroleum Dependency
"Imperial Overstretch is a sweeping view of the history of US empire, the economic and military underpinnings of this empire, and the rise of the petro-military complex under the Bush administration. It is essential reading for those wishing to understand the rise of the neo-cons, the political birthing of George Bush and the imperial hijacking of September 11. But most of all, Imperial Overstretch is an urgent call to the American public to join the global movement against corporate and military domination, to jointly slay the imperial beast that is a menace to us at home and abroad."--Medea Benjamin, co-founder of Global Exchange and
the women's peace group CodePink
"As at time when American imperialism is in a particularly brutal and violent phase, this book 0is essential reading."-David Barsamian, Alternative Radio, and co-author with Arundhati Roy of The Checkbook and the Cruise Missile and with Noam Chomsky of Propaganda and the Public Mind
Synopsis
George W. Bush has fundamentally changed America's place in the world. In some neo-conservative circles the word 'empire' is back in fashion, and a great republic that broke away from the British empire is now supposed to be proud of its new imperial role. This book explains how the neo-conservatives and the petro-military complex have hijacked US foreign policy. It examines the price that Americans will have to pay for this new era of unlimited US military might - a never ending fear of terrorism; mushrooming defence and security spending; the erosion of civil liberties at home and the deaths abroad of tens of thousands of civilians and military combatants.
At the heart of this disturbing and timely book is the ultimate question. Previous empires have foundered on the rock of imperial overstretch - the costs of trying to run and protect empires eventually outstripping the capacity and willingness of the citizenry to pay for them. Is the US in danger of going down that road? Who around George 'Dubya' Bush is pushing him along that path?
About the Author
Roger Burbach is Director of Research and Publication at the Center for the Study of the Americas (CENSA) in Berkeley, California.
Jim Tarbell is a freelance writer and broadcaster based in California.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements
Prologue: the Toll of Empire
1. George W. Bush and the Reality of Empire
Bush and Imperial Overstretch/ Mythology and the American Empire/ The Empire of Deceit/ Militarization of the Empire/ Multi-polar Resistance to Empire/ The Empire Confronts the Republic/ Rise of the ‘Second Superpower’
2. Empire as the American Way of Life
Defining Empire, the American Way/ The Foundation of the American Empire/ Fighting Communism/ Rise of the Bushes
3. The ‘American Century’
Setting the Ground Rules for Empire/ Truman: Scaring the Hell Out of Americans/ The Subjection of Latin America/ Seizing the Prize/ On Revolutions and CIA Coups/ Counter-revolutionary Warfare/ Globalizing the Empire/ The New World Order
4. The Rise of the Bush People
The Movement that Upended the Establishment/ Corporate Right/ Rise of the Neo-cons/ The Next Generation/ American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research (AEI)/ Things Go Better with God/ Republikud/ Costs of Empire
5. The Making of George W. Bush
The Privileged American Dream/ Atonement/ Finding His Persona/ The Governor/ Headed Towards the White House/ Who is This Man?/ The Iron Triangle/ Oil Power/ A Political Circus
6. The Politics of Fear: Bush Hijacks 11 September
The Open Door to War/ ‘Why Do They Hate Us?’/ The Unilateral ‘Coalition’/ The Empire Confronts the Republic at Home/ The Dirty War in Afghanistan/ Bush and the Axis of Evil
7. The Drums of Pre-emptive War
History of US Intervention in Iraq/ The Oil Connection/ Selling the War/ The Intelligence War/ Multilateral Consensus?/ The Unwilling
8. Iraq and the Imperial Dead-enders
Preventive War/ The Non-existent Road Map for the Empire/ The Oblivious Empire/ The Incompetent Emperor/ The Mirage of an Occupied ‘Democracy’/ The Counter-insurgency War
9. The Interregnum: An Empire in Descent Confronts a World in Upheaval
Economic Overstretch/ The Interregnum/ The Pentagon’s Corrupt Spartans/ The Empire’s New Frontier/ Iraq Around the Clock/ The World in Revolt/ The New Internationalism
Bibliography
Index