“The United States does not do nation building;†claimed Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld three years ago. Yet what are we to make of the American military bases in Korea? Why do American warships patrol the Somali coastline? And perhaps most significantly; why are fourteen “enduring bases†being built in Iraq? In every major foreign war fought by United States in the last century; the repercussions of the American presence have been felt long after the last Marine has left. Kenneth J. Hagan and Ian J. Bickerton argue here that; despite adamant protests from the military and government alike; nation building and occupation are indeed hallmarks—and unintended consequences—of American warmaking.In this timely; groundbreaking study; the authors examine ten major wars fought by the United States; from the Revolutionary War to the ongoing Iraq War; and analyze the conflicts’ unintended consequences. These unexpected outcomes; Unintended Consequences persuasively demonstrates; stemmed from ill-informed decisions made at critical junctures and the surprisingly similar crises that emerged at the end of formal fighting. As a result; war did not end with treaties or withdrawn troops. Instead; time after time; the United States became inextricably involved in the issues of the defeated country; committing itself to the chaotic aftermath that often completely subverted the intended purposes of war.Stunningly; Unintended Consequences contends that the vast majority of wars launched by the United States were unnecessary; avoidable; and catastrophically unpredictable. In a stark challenge to accepted scholarship; the authors show that the wars’ unintended consequences far outweighed the initial calculated goals; and thus forced cataclysmic shifts in American domestic and foreign policy.A must-read for anyone concerned with the past; present; or future of American defense; Unintended Consequences offers a provocative perspective on the current predicament in Iraq and the conflicts sure to loom ahead of us.
#1127876 in Books 2007-08-15Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 12.25 x .63 x 9.25l; 2.18 #File Name: 1857802705136 pages
Review
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful. A Tougher Air Battle Than You Might Have ThoughtBy WryGuy2"Barbarossa: The Air Battle July-December 1941" by Christer Bergstrom; is a book dealing with air portion of the German invasion an and initial campaign the Soviet Union from the start of the war in June 1941 until the Russian counterattack in front of Moscow in December 1941.There have been many; many books written about the German invasion of the Soviet Union in World War II; as it represented the most titanic struggle of the war; and the results of which would virtually dictate which side would win World War II. While there are many books about the invasion; and many books about the first part of the campaign (Operation Barbarossa); there are very few that focus solely on the air portion of the war and how it affected the war's outcome. Mr Christer's book; as one in a part of his series about the air war on the Eastern Front; helps fill-in a large gap of information about the war on the eastern front.The Germans had three major army groups facing the Soviets on its western border and another an army-sized grouping in Finland. The author generally switches between back and forth between these four areas as the campaign progresses. The author starts off by discussing the situation before the war begins; and then begins describing the overwhelming attacks; desperate defenses; and evolving tactics and strategies as the war unfolds. He often gives a day by day description of the combat from both sides perspectives; and provides insights and analysis of the operations for both combatants. The book is chock-full of photographs from the battle's time frame; evenly divided between the Germans and Soviet point of view. The author closes the book with listings of units; available aircraft; claimed victories/losses versus actual victories/losses (primarily from the German side); which are the result of extensive study of both side's records. While this shows that from a pure number perspective; the Germans destroyed down many more aircraft than they lost; Mr Bergstrom's narrative explains that numbers are deceiving and that Soviet performance improved greatly during the battle; particularly as the Germans found themselves being ground-down over a lengthy campaign they hadn't prepared for; while the Soviets were able to throw vast numbers of new planes and pilots into the fray.Mr Bergstrom shows the tremendous impact that the air portion of the battle had on the ground fighting ... air power played a key role in the battles; and the presence or absence of one side's air force often spelled success or failure in that day's fighting. While one often reads that air power can be critical to a battle; in this book (and his others) the author gives a more direct link to why that is so than just about any other book on the market.I highly recommend this book. It provides good information and analysis on the air forces of both sides during a critical campaign on the Eastern Front; and provides a comprehensive view of the role of that the German and Soviet Air Forces played in outcome of the battles.12 of 12 people found the following review helpful. Highly recommended!By FalkThe book is based on Black Cross / Red Star vol. 1; and rectifies many of its predecessor`s faults.This time; the quality of the print is outstanding; with (mostly) crisp; good-quality photos. There even are some color photos and illustrations sprinkled throughout; and the layout is excellent.A much better editing job has also been performed; eliminating the poor language that plagued BC/RS 1. It also benefits from having just one author; giving it a better and more consistent flow.Whereas some felt BC/RS 1 was "fighter-biased"; Barbarossa gives a bit more coverage to other aspects of the air war; as well as chronicling the actions on the ground.That being said; it does have its minor flaws: Perhaps not unexpectedly; much of the information and most of the photos have been recycled from BC/RS 1 ( though it appears that a lot more research has been put into this book).On the other hand; BC/RS 1 has been out of print for quite some time; so this might not matter much to the average buyer.It is also considerably shorter; but considering the scope of the campaign; it does succeed in giving quite a good overview of the aerial part of Barbarossa. Numerous peronal experiences make the story come alive.The intention to give the story a balanced view is commendable; and indeed; is one of the book`s strongest points. But I can`t quite escape the feeling that this principle was a little bit too rigidly adhered to ( i.e ; if I write one page from the German POV; I`ll have to write one page from the Russian POV as well).An example is the German raids on Moscow; which are given approx. one page of special coverage. The Soviet raids on Berlin are given the same amount of space and actually more text; while the total number of sorties dispatched were only a fraction of the number of even a single German raid.Many of the claims stated are crosschecked with the relevant enemy loss lists; an excellent feature (and time-consuming to research; no doubt); highlighting the sometimes considerable discrepancies so common to air combat.I would have liked this to be done consistently; however. Whether this was not done due to lack of time; lack of space or simply because the records themselves were unavailable; is unclear.But these minor details do not detract from the overall value of this book; and considering the amount and quality of info packed into it; it is quite reasonably priced.Highly recommended!(I have already ordered the other volumes in this series; Stalingrad and Kursk!)1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Eminent yet very readibleBy G. B. CaygillGiven the paucity of hard data on the eastern front air war this bosk has amazing analysis of the opening stages of the 1941 air war. I found the mix of hard data and anecdotal references quite refreshing and the insert articles on particular missions/operations were well thought out. At the end of the book is a brief single shot of the major types used in the conflict period which is useful; but probably better covered elsewhere in more detail such as can be found through wikipedia; still this was nicely done.My only criticism would be the lack of maps of regions; e.g. around the Smolensk/Yelnia salient where there was discussion of the loss of air superiority for the LW for a period. The details of gruppe location and VVS units air umbrella would have made this clearer. Similarly the airfields around Leningrad to Pskov merited particular attention.Overall this book is exceptional value; especially as it draws and compares data from many nations records.
