WHAT:  Digging Deeper LI: Reconceptualizing Terrorism
WHO:  Led by Mark Jensen
WHEN:  Monday, June 30 and July 7, 2008 -- 7:00 p.m.-8:30 p.m.
WHERE:  Mandolin Café, 3923 South 12th St., Tacoma, WA 98405

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United for Peace
of Pierce County
Study Circle:
June 30 & July 7, 2008
****************
http://www.ufppc.org
****************

DIGGING DEEPER LI: RECONCEPTUALIZING TERRORISM

Philip Bobbitt’s The Shield of Achilles: War, Peace, and the Course of History (Alfred A. Knopf, 2002) won high praise from reviewers for the scope of its argument, the originality of its analysis, and the provocativeness of its conclusions. In a survey of five centuries of history, Bobbitt presented a novel and tragic philosophy of history, proposing that the solutions that resolve one era’s wars create the basis for the next era’s conflicts.

in his new book, Terror and Consent: The Wars for the Twenty-First Century, Bobbitt says he has “something to offend everyone.”  Bobbitt proposes the U.S. is “the chief cause of global networked terror is because of overwhelming American strategic dominance.”   He argues that in taking a military response to the problem, the U.S. has “ignored the role of law in devising its strategy, with fateful consequences.”  Whether we can maintain what he calls “states of consent” in the 21st century depends on whether we can adequately adapt “our ideas about terrorism, war, and even victory itself.”

—Terror and Consent: The Wars for the Twenty-First Century (Alfred A. Knopf, April 2008).   --  “"Magisterial . . . 'important' barely begins to characterize this book."  —Craig Seligman, Bloomberg News;  --  "[A] complex and provocative analysis of the West's ongoing struggle against terrorism.  Terror and Consent merits wide circulation and serious consideration."  —Publishers Weekly;  --  "A distinguished scholar proposes an entirely new way of understanding and combating modern terrorism.   Bobbitt keeps his feet on the ground, boldly offering detailed real-world proposals to combat the problems he outlines."  —Kirkus;  --  "Bobbitt aims for the big picture and succeeds . . . Not just another book about terrorism, this is a complete theory of constitutional evolution and a sophisticated set of far-reaching policy prescriptions."  —Booklist.

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Since July 2004, United for Peace of Pierce County has been conducting “Digging Deeper,” a Monday-evening book discussion group, often in the form of a study circle. Topics have included peak oil, climate change, the corporation, torture, Iran, U.S.-Iran relations, the writings of Robert Baer, Islam, American immigration policy, Barack Obama and the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr., Saul Alinsky’s life and writings, war and human nature, parallels between the U.S. and ancient Rome, the sustainability revolution, and the debt crisis, as well as abiding themes of war, peace, politics, and social change. Occasionally, the group has spent several weeks reading longer works, like Daniel Yergin’s The Prize or Robert Fisk’s The Great War for Civilisation.

DIGGING DEEPER meets every Monday from 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the Mandolin Café, 3923 S. 12th St., Tacoma, WA.

Participation is free. Some copies of the books are available for purchase or loan. Info: contact Mark Jensen (jensenmk@plu.edu)

****************
United for Peace
of Pierce County
Study Circle:
June 30 & July 7, 2008
****************
http://www.ufppc.org
****************