While American national security policy has grown more interventionist since the Cold War; Washington has also hoped to shape the world on the cheap. Misled by the stunning success against Iraq in 1991; administrations of both parties have pursued ambitious aims with limited force; committing the country's military frequently yet often hesitantly; with inconsistent justification. These ventures have produced strategic confusion; unplanned entanglements; and indecisive results. This collection of essays by Richard K. Betts; a leading international politics scholar; investigates the use of American force since the end of the Cold War; suggesting guidelines for making it more selective and successful.Betts brings his extensive knowledge of twentieth century American diplomatic and military history to bear on the full range of theory and practice in national security; surveying the Cold War roots of recent initiatives and arguing that U.S. policy has always been more unilateral than liberal theorists claim. He exposes mistakes made by humanitarian interventions and peace operations; reviews the issues raised by terrorism and the use of modern nuclear; biological; and cyber weapons; evaluates the case for preventive war; which almost always proves wrong; weighs the lessons learned from campaigns in Iraq; Afghanistan; and Vietnam; assesses the rise of China and the resurgence of Russia; quells concerns about civil-military relations; exposes anomalies within recent defense budgets; and confronts the practical barriers to effective strategy. Betts ultimately argues for greater caution and restraint; while encouraging more decisive action when force is required; and he recommends a more dispassionate assessment of national security interests; even in the face of global instability and unfamiliar threats.
#2077102 in Books Nerina Rustomji 2013-10-01Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.00 x .60 x 6.00l; .70 #File Name: 0231140851240 pagesThe Garden and the Fire
Review
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful. A collection from the Qur'an and the hadithsBy Paul StevensonNerina Rustomji has collected many sources of Islamic ideas about the Garden/Paradise and the Fire/Hell. She has drawn on the Qur'an; hadiths and eschatological manuals. She traces the development of these ideas from their beginnings in the Qur'an through ever greater elaborations; with more and more details filled in over the centuries.An interesting feature of Islamic thought about the next life is that it envisions what Rustomji justly calls an "afterworld;" which is somewhat different than the usual Christian idea of an "afterlife." While Christians tend to see the afterlife of the saved as primarily existence in the direct presence of God; with little elaboration of the physical conditions of heaven; Muslims have many detailed concepts about the physical characteristics of Paradise and its inhabitants; both human and non-human. The final chapter includes reproductions of numerous paintings that represent life in both Paradise and the Fire.This book is a useful source of information for those curious about Muslim concepts of life after death. There is a lot more to it that the "72 virgins" that seem to be about the only bit of (mis)information that circulates in popular lore in America these days.This book; like many other academic books from many publishers in recent years; sadly suffers from a lack of proofreading. It is riddled with small errors on many pages; and has a few larger ones too. Academic publishers; please go back to using editors and proofreaders!
