Masters of War Militarism and Blowback in the Era of American Empire

An incredibly timely volume, emphasizing the recent transformation of the U.S. into a militarized, imperialist world presenceIncludes the most vocal and important critics of the Bush war effort, including bestselling authors Noam Chomsky and Chalmers JohnsonCovers war in Iraq, Colombia and Afghanistan, as well as the place of oil, gun rights and movies in making war a national obsession

Few United States citizens conceive of their country as an empire, but, as the contributors to Masters of War convincingly argue, the U.S. legacy of military power runs long and deep. Often mobilized in the name of spreading democracy, maintaining international order, and creating the conditions for economic self-determination, constantly expanding global U.S. military power is difficult to characterize as anything but an imperialism bent on global domination. However, at the same time that the U.S. government hawks rhetoric of human rights and national sovereignty, its dominion has begun breeding widespread resistance and opposition likely to make the twenty-first century an era marked by sustained, and generally unanticipated, blowback. Presenting a wide range of essays by some of the anti-war movement's most vocal and incisive critics, Masters of War reminds us that worldwide economic and military dominance has its price, both globally and domestically.

Introduction: Empire and Globalization, Carl Boggs Part I: The Expanding U.S. Imperial Domain The Logic of U.S. Intervention, Michael Parenti Militarism and Oil Politics in the Middle East, Irene Gendzier Star Wars: Imperialism in Space, Loring Wirbel The Geopolitics of Plan Colombia, James Petras and Morris Morley Part II: Empire, Militarism and Terrorism American Militarism and Blowback, Chalmers Johnson Wars of Terror, Noam Chomsky The Dialectics of Terrorism, Peter McLaren Outlaw Nation: the Legacy of U.S. War Crimes, Carl Boggs Part III: The Militarized Society Postmodern Military and Permanent War, Douglas Kellner Mass Media: Aiding and Abetting Militarism, Norman Solomon Patriarchal Militarism, R. Claire Snyder Empire of Death and the Plague of Civic Violence, Darrell Y. Hamamoto Militarism and Family Terrorism, Rhonda Hammer The Hollywood War Machine, Tom Pollard Conclusion: The Real Axis of Evil, George Katsiaficas

Carl Boggs is Professor of Social Sciences at National University in Los Angeles. He is the author of numerous publications including The End of Politics: Corporate Power and the Decline of the Public Sphere.