Barack obama book 2017 war
Obama's Wars
When President Obama took office, he was faced not only with having to clean out the economic monkey cage the prior administration had left covered with feces, he also had to cope with two inherited wars. He had some very definite ideas on an approach to the Afghanistan War in particular and that is the focus of Woodward’s latest.
The primary battle here is Obama’s desire to limit the cost and duration of our combat in Afghanistan versus the military’s desire for constantly increasing resources. Most of the military favored a program of counterinsurgency that entailed protecting the population while going after the Taliban. This would require many more troops than other options. There is a telling moment when two maps are shown at a meeting, one showing the population centers and the other showing the troop deployments. The mismatch was obvious, as was one extremely huge hole in the plan, the near absence of troops at the Afghani-Pakistani border where most of the Taliban fighters crossed into Afghanistan from Pakistan’s nearly ungovernable tribal areas.
One issue that was central to the policy discussions was whether US policy should seek to destroy or disrupt the Taliban. It was fascinating to see this play out.
There is a formula to Woodward’s books. He interviews as many of the players as possible, corroborates their versions with others, gets his paws on official documents, and reports the blow-by-blow of the discussions that lead up to final policy action. It is a good formula and Woodward is an expert practitioner. Of course many of the interviewees are spin meisters who do what they can to get their side of a particular conflict into the record. There are many, many opinions expressed here, and I fe
Obama’s Foreign Policy: Ending the War on Terror
By effectively defining the war on terror rhetoric, this heritage of Bush to Obama becomes the rhetorical lynchpin for the American foreign policy and everyday life in the post-9/11 era. Although various studies have analyzed U.S. foreign policy, studies on the rhetoric of the war on terror seem to remain limited. This book, that is a useful reference, serves scholars of U.S. foreign and security policy, Middle East studies, and terrorism. Besides the editors’ introduction and conclusion, this book consists of ten substantive chapters, each tackling what the authors identify as the implementation of counter-terrorism policies under the Obama Administration.
In chapter one, Trevor McCrisken claims that Obama’ foreign policy is compatible with the election rhetoric but expecting wholesale change in counter-terrorism policy is also unrealistic. The author illustrates differences in discourse and action in three accounts: First is the high expectation from the audiences and their misreading Obama’s discourse on the “change.” Second, Obama actually adopted a counterterrorism strategy that is inherited from Bush, called the ‘Late-Bush Era’ by the author. Finally, Obama’s emphasis on values and morality has been questioned with the increased drone attacks policy. In chapter two, the author evaluates the questions “Is the U.S. in decline?” and “Are we witnessing the rise of the rest?” Drawing on the theory of Paul Kennedy as to “imperial overstretch,” the author shows America’s shrinking resource allocation for national security policies with figures, but he also strongly emphasizes that the United States enjoys an indisputable diplomatic power. The U.S. still possesses a preponderance of power, which leaves a margin for making mistakes (p. 53). Another mistake in the Middle East would be more risky; hence, Obama adopted a more prudent approach, which was seen in the Libya intervention and in his approach of refusing to
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Charlie Savage’s penetrating investigation of the Obama presidency and the national security state
Barack Obama campaigned on changing George W. Bush’s “global war on terror” but ended up entrenching extraordinary executive powers, from warrantless surveillance and indefinite detention to military commissions and targeted killings. Then Obama found himself bequeathing those authorities to Donald Trump. How did the United States get here?
In Power Wars, Charlie Savage reveals high-level national security legal and policy deliberations in a way no one has done before. He tells inside stories of how Obama came to order the drone killing of an American citizen, preside over an unprecedented crackdown on leaks, and keep a then-secret program that logged every American’s phone calls.
Highlighted by the first comprehensive history of N.S.A. surveillance over the past forty years and new information about the Osama bin Laden raid, Power Wars equips readers to understand the legacy of Bush’s and Obama’s post-9/11 presidenciesintheTrumpera.
Starting Reading Free: Chapter One: The Captive
Expanded Hardcover Table of Contents (With Section Titles and Pages)
Hardcover Edition Index
Rare Primary Documents
In-depth interviews,Adapted Excerpts, Symposium, and Appearances
Critical Praise for Power Wars
A New York Times Editors’ Choice
Named one of the best books of 2015 by ABC News and The Guardian
“Offers a master class in how to think seriously about crucial aspects of the [war on terrorism]. … comprehensive, authoritative … anyone truly interested in foreign policy or national security should find it essential and enthralling, thanks to the author’s intelligence, objectivity, legwork and literary skill. … Savage’s superb book should stand as an indispensable guide to the debate.”—Gideon Rose, New York Times Book R By John A. Torres $38.93 This book is harder to get and may take several weeks if available. Please email info@mcnallyjackson.com with questions.
How Barack Obama Fought the War on Terrorism (Presidents at War) (Library Binding)
Description
From humble beginnings and a nontraditional upbringing, Barack Obama worked his way through law school and then onto Chicago's political scene. After serving in the state legislature and one term in the Senate, Obama became the first African American president elected in the United States. His mettle would immediately be tested as he inherited a country at war--with terror. This ongoing conflict seems to have no end in sight. Read about the president's actions to defeat the terror organizations that threaten America's safety. Quotes from the two-term president himself bring readers into the Situation Room, where matters of life and death are decided.