BOOKS: Garet Garrett's critique of American Imperium reissued on its 50th anniversary
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- Written by Donna Quexada
Enthusiastic applause from Justin Raimondo at the 50th-anniversary re-issue of a book by Garet Garrett critiquing the transformation of the United States from a constitutional republic to an imperial state. -- Garrett regarded the six signs of empire as: "The dominance of the executive branch, the subordination of domestic policy to foreign policy, the ascendancy of the military mind, 'a system of satellite nations,' 'an emotional complex of vaunting and fear,' and the tyranny of imagined necessity," and believed that the transition from republic to empire occurred during FDR's New Deal. -- Garet Garrett (1878-1954) was a journalist whose career culminated at the Saturday Evening Post ("a particular haven for mourners of the past," as William Manchester noted in The Glory and the Dream), and who was known as an eloquent opponent to U.S. involvement in World War II....
BOOK REVIEW: David Armitage examines the rift between International Relations and history
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- Written by Hank Berger
An excellent review essay on three volumes that are ìharbingers of a renaissance in the history of international thought,î according to Columbia University historian David Armitage, who reviews recent thinking in international relations and analyzes the strange chasm that has opened up between historians and scholars of international relations in the course of the past two generations. -- Of particular interest to UFPPC members is the conclusion in one of the volumes under review (Edward Keeneís Beyond the Anarchical Society) that ìThe pattern of order that is challenging the idea of state sovereignty today is as old as the society of states itself, and there is nothing new about the notion that the sovereignty of states should be compromised by a higher structure of international organisation that facilitates the promotion of economic progress, good government and individualsí rights.î Keene argues that the concept of sovereignty that is now widespread (and that underlies the views of those to whom the service of U.S. troops under a foreign commander is anathema) has no foundation outside of historical myth....
BOOKS: Anonymous author of <I>Imperial Hubris</I> speaks to <I>Daily Star</I>
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- Written by Henry Adams
This review-cum-interview in Beirut's Daily Star about an anonymous new volume entitled Imperial Hubris (slated for an Oct. 25 discussion in the UFPPC Monday evening book discussion series) points out that this book breaks "with almost all trends in American discourse" by describing bin Laden as "a dangerous and worthy foe" rather than a madman or criminal, and calls the invasion of Iraq "bin Laden's gift from America, one he has long and ardently desired, but never realistically expected" -- like the 1846 Mexican War, "an avaricious, premeditated, unprovoked war against a foe who posed no immediate threat but whose defeat did offer economic advantages." -- But the author's bloody-mindedness reminds readers that a change of administration and policies is far from guaranteeing a more peaceful foreign policy....