[PAA-Discuss] FW: PEACE&CHANGEreview AMERICAN WARS/Buchheit

Tue Feb 14 13:41:29 EST 2012

Chris, this is from someone in the Chicago area. Grandma Lee/Lee

From: Clarity Press, Inc. [mailto:clarity at islandnet.com] 
Sent: Monday, February 13, 2012 11:35 PM
To: leeloe at igc.org
Subject: PEACE&CHANGEreview AMERICAN WARS/Buchheit

PEACE & CHANGE 

reviews 

AMERICAN WARS: ILLUSIONS & REALITIES 

edited by Paul Buchheit 

American Wars: Illusions and Reality is a perfect primer for the general
reader who seeks to understand ''the many misconceptions about war'' and
''the truth about these many illusions.'' This little gem is edited by Paul
Buchheit, a professor at Chicago City Colleges, founder of
fightingpoverty.org, and co-founder of Global Initiative Chicago. 

The primary reason this book is so useful and insightful is the way it is
written. The book is divided into six sections-each one examining an
important human value (honor, truthfulness, self-awareness, compassion,
altruism, realism). Within each section, essays highlight a specific and
distorted illusion about war and foreign policy. Those illusions are
followed by statements reflecting the true nature of the topic. Buchheit and
an extremely distinguished group of contributors consistently and
successfully topple many of the myths and conventional wisdoms concerning
war and America's role in trying to change the world. 

The contributors are a very impressive group. There are some big names like
Buchheit, Howard Zinn, and Cindy Sheehan. In addition, there are activists,
community organizers, scholars, writers, pacifists, bloggers, veterans,
foreign policy specialists, and independent researchers. 

The nineteen articles are succinct, yet well-written. It is impossible in
this short review to discuss all the articles- there are nineteen excellent
offerings. But I do want to draw attention to a few of them: Illusion #3:
Our government tells us the truth about our wars; illusion #1: We fight for
peace and democracy; Illusion #10: Suffering is minimized in today's wars;
Illusion #19: Humans are inevitably driven to war. 

While many peace activists might believe the answers to these illusions are
obvious, many regular citizens in the United States do not see these issues
so clearly. In addition, there are powerful forces that promote war and
bloated military budgets. So while this book might be considered biased and
slanted, so is the mainstream media in the United States as well as many
other outlets that reach the general population. That is why books like this
are invaluable. 

To illustrate some of the themes of these nineteen articles, I will select a
few and illustrate how they are covered.  Under the human value of "honor,"
the statement is posed:  "We Fight for the Right Reasons."  Two excellent
articles dispel that notion.  Pal Buchheit demonstrates that the United
States has a long history of occupying other people's territory, while Judi
Nitsch shows how wars actually give governments reasons to oppress their own
citizens and trample on civil rights.  Another theme is the misguided notion
that "We are Making the World a Better Place," which comes under the value
of altruism.  Ghada Talhami dispels the illusion that America's relationship
with Israel has made the Middle East a more stable region, Maurice Carney
writes about the myth that developing countries benefit from the West's wars
for democracy, and Tom Hastings talks about the illusion that wars do not
harm the environment.  

Finally, Amy Meyers, ARun Gandhi and the late Howard Zinn all focus on the
illusion that wars are inevitable.  Meyers tries to dismiss the notion that
many people have no other option but to join the military.  Zinn argues that
"blind obedience makes war possible" and that the more humans know about the
reality of war, the sooner they will reject it. 

This book packs a lot in a short space.  In the final essay (the book's
conclusion), Buchheit writes that "Opinions derived from any one source may
be inaccurate, or biased, or simply wrong.  Americans need to research the
issues, to seek multiple sources if there's any question about the
information available to them. That can be hard work. But it will teach us a
lot about America's role in the world, and about the values that are
important to us." (161) Buchheit and the individual contributors urge us all
to "look beyond the illusions of war to seek an illusive reality" (159).
And with nearly twenty articles and an overall focus on values, this book
does its job.  It is worth reading and well worth talking about to others. 

DAVID E. WOODWARD 

Concordia University 

St. Paul, Minnesota 

PEACE AND CHANGE, Issues 36.3 (July 2011) 

<http://emm.adhost.com/t?r=782&c=912118&l=19035&ctl=14B2044:76F7D0AD7CE133A8
D52FC2A2D0AC3FDF3B113531E5EC2DAA&> 

   AMERICAN WARS: 

  ILLUSIONS & REALITIES 

edited by  

  Paul Buchheit 

  ISBN: 13-digit: 978-0-932863-56-0
24 illustrations / 192 pages

      View
<http://emm.adhost.com/t?r=782&c=912118&l=19035&ctl=14B2045:76F7D0AD7CE133A8
D52FC2A2D0AC3FDF3B113531E5EC2DAA&>  synopsis and table of contents 

Available in the US from Clarity Press
<http://emm.adhost.com/t?r=782&c=912118&l=19035&ctl=14B2046:76F7D0AD7CE133A8
D52FC2A2D0AC3FDF3B113531E5EC2DAA&> , amazon.com
<http://emm.adhost.com/t?r=782&c=912118&l=19035&ctl=14B2044:76F7D0AD7CE133A8
D52FC2A2D0AC3FDF3B113531E5EC2DAA&> ,  

Available from Distributors
<http://emm.adhost.com/t?r=782&c=912118&l=19035&ctl=14B2047:76F7D0AD7CE133A8
D52FC2A2D0AC3FDF3B113531E5EC2DAA&>  in the USA, the UK/Europe, Middle East,
Malaysia/Singapore   

CLARITY PRESS, INC. http://www.claritypress.com  

You are presently listed as a subscriber for press releases from Clarity
Press, Inc. To unsubscribe
<http://emm.adhost.com/bin/http:/emm.adhost.com/u?id=76F7D0AD7CE133A8D52FC2A
2D0AC3FDF3B113531E5EC2DAA>  

There are always alternatives to war, as the voices in this book testify.
Let us listen to 
their voices of wisdom, and start to disarm our mindsets, talk to our
enemies and 
solve our problems in a civilized way. We all know in today's highly
militarized and 
dangerous world, this nonviolent path to peace makes sense."
-Mairead Corrigan Maguire, Nobel Peace Laureate

"Fifty years ago, President Eisenhower expressed his concern about the
'campaign of 
hatred' against us in the Arab world, for reasons that his administration
knew were 
sound. By now, particularly during the Bush years, fear and often hatred of
the US 
have spread widely and deepened. Even Europeans now rank the US as the
greatest 
threat to world peace, far above China, Russia, Iran or North Korea.
Americans 
should be deeply concerned about these developments, and the reasons for
them. 
The questions raised in these essays are the pertinent ones, and the answers

developed should be pondered carefully by those who are concerned with their

country and- and given its immense power-the entire world and future 
generations."
-NOAM CHOMSKY

"American Wars: Illusions & Realities sets the record straight. War is not
peace, only 
peace is peace. If the Iraq War is a teachable moment about the real nature
of U.S. 
aggressive intentions in the world, then this book should be in the core
curriculum."
-American Friends Service Committee 

"The American way of war offers a nonstop supply of illusions-while imposing

horrific realities far away and, ultimately, at home too. This book is
intent on dispelling 
key illusions and coming to terms with human realities. Between the covers
of 
American Wars, the result is a compendium of insights and hard-won knowledge
of 
the sort you'll rarely find in the daily paper or the evening news. The
writers are myth-
busters who challenge the conventional lack of wisdom that drags the United
States 
into one war after another and keeps us lethally mired in a warfare state.
This 
collection provides us with an array of vital perspectives, opening up a
crucial topic 
that usually remains shut down-what American wars are doing to humanity,
under 
false pretenses and with calamitous results, around the world and in our own

neighborhoods. The future is at stake. This book helps us to understand the
perils 
and opportunities of the present moment.
-NORMAN SOLOMON, author of War Made Easy

"With the War on Terror threatening to go on for decades, it's critical for
Americans to 
examine the myriad ways our government has tricked us into supporting unjust
wars, 
with catastrophic consequences for all sides. American Wars uncovers a
tragic 
pattern that must be broken. Read it and act."
-MEDEA BENJAMIN, Code Pink

"This country needs a moral revolution where supporting work for peace and
justice 
is not seen as weakness. The voices heard in this work truly "speak truth to
power." 
This book addresses issues that will empower the reader to more fully
appreciate the 
ethical challenges America faces and to effectively participate in this
change. Its 
accessibility will attract, inform and inspire the next generation of peace
activists."
-Ray Parrish, Vietnam Veterans Against the War

"Thinkers and chroniclers since Thucydides have argued that war is an
inevitable part 
of human existence. This book presents the views of people who have studied
the 
issues and believe that the truth is otherwise. The world needs to hear
their voices."
-Stephen Kinzer, author of Overthrow and All the Shah's Men

"Constructing a powerful antiwar movement continues to be the order of the
day. 
American Wars: Illusions and Realities, is a helpful resource for those
involved in this 
project."
-Michael Florentino, reviewed in International Socialist Review, July-August
2009 

<http://emm.adhost.com/bin/http:/emm.adhost.com/u?id=76F7D0AD7CE133A8D52FC2A
2D0AC3FDF3B113531E5EC2DAA> 

<http://emm.adhost.com/t?c=912118&r=782&l=19035&t=10&e=76F7D0AD7CE133A8D52FC
2A2D0AC3FDF3B113531E5EC2DAA> 

  _____  

No virus found in this message.
Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
Version: 2012.0.1913 / Virus Database: 2112/4808 - Release Date: 02/13/12

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://paa-tx.org/pipermail/discuss_paa-tx.org/attachments/20120214/ddee97ce/attachment.htm>