The Spoils of War: Power, Profit and the American War Machine
Sep 2021 · Verso Books
star
1 review
Ebook
304
Pages
Tools
info
family_home
Eligible
info
About this ebook
Why does the United States go to war? A leading Harper’s commentator on U.S. foreign affairs offers a withering exposé of runaway military spending and the profit-driven U.S. war machine.
America has a long tradition of justifying war as the defense of democracy. The War on Terror was waged to protect the West from the dangers of Islamists. The US soldiers stationed in over 800 locations across the world are meant to be the righteous arbiters of justice. Against this background, Andrew Cockburn brilliantly dissects the true intentions behind Washington’s martial appetites.
The American war machine can only be understood in terms of the private passions and interests of those who control it—principally a passionate interest in money. Thus, as Cockburn witheringly reports, Washington expanded NATO to satisfy an arms manufacturer’s urgent financial requirements; the US Navy’s Pacific fleet deployments were for years dictated by a corrupt contractor who bribed high-ranking officers with cash and prostitutes; senior Marine commanders agreed to a troop surge in Afghanistan in 2017 for budgetary reasons.
Based on years of wide-ranging research, Cockburn lays bare the ugly reality of the largest military machine in history: as profoundly squalid as it is terrifyingly deadly.
America has a long tradition of justifying war as the defense of democracy. The War on Terror was waged to protect the West from the dangers of Islamists. The US soldiers stationed in over 800 locations across the world are meant to be the righteous arbiters of justice. Against this background, Andrew Cockburn brilliantly dissects the true intentions behind Washington’s martial appetites.
The American war machine can only be understood in terms of the private passions and interests of those who control it—principally a passionate interest in money. Thus, as Cockburn witheringly reports, Washington expanded NATO to satisfy an arms manufacturer’s urgent financial requirements; the US Navy’s Pacific fleet deployments were for years dictated by a corrupt contractor who bribed high-ranking officers with cash and prostitutes; senior Marine commanders agreed to a troop surge in Afghanistan in 2017 for budgetary reasons.
Based on years of wide-ranging research, Cockburn lays bare the ugly reality of the largest military machine in history: as profoundly squalid as it is terrifyingly deadly.
Why does the United States go to war? A leading Harper’s commentator on U.S. foreign affairs offers a withering exposé of runaway military spending and the profit-driven U.S. war machine.
America has a long tradition of justifying war as the defense of democracy. The War on Terror was waged to p...
Discover more
Ratings and reviews
1 review
About the author
Andrew Cockburn is the Washington Editor of Harper’s magazine and the author of many articles and books on national security, including including Rumsfeld, a New York Times Editor’s Choice, The Threat, which destroyed the myth of Soviet military superiority underpinning the Cold War, and Kill Chain: Drones and the Rise of High-Tech Assassins. He has written for, among others, the Los Angeles Times, New York Times, National Geographic, and the London Review of Books.
Andrew Cockburn is the Washington Editor of Harper’s magazine and the author of many articles and books on national security, including including Rumsfeld, a New York Times Editor’s Choice, The Threat, which destroyed the myth of Soviet military superiority underpinning the Cold War, and Kill Cha...
Rate this ebook
Tell us what you think.
Reading information
Smartphones and tablets
Install the Google Play Books app for Android and iPad/iPhone. It syncs automatically with your account and allows you to read online or offline wherever you are.
Laptops and computers
You can listen to audiobooks purchased on Google Play using your computer's web browser.
eReaders and other devices
To read on e-ink devices like Kobo eReaders, you'll need to download a file and transfer it to your device. Follow the detailed Help Center instructions to transfer the files to supported eReaders.
