"The war in Afghanistan was apparently a decisive military triumph. But was it also a political failure? Gabriel Kolko, whose masterly studies of conflict have redefined our views of modern warfare and its consequences, turns his critical eye to our current crisis and suggests it may portend a dark future at home and abroad.".

"The roots of today's conflicts lie in America's own cynical policies in the Middle East and Afghanistan, a half-century of realpolitik justified by crusades for oil and against communism. Though the latter threat has disappeared, America has become even more ambitious in its foreign adventures and, as recent events prove all too well, even less secure.

For decades, the United States has reacted to the complexity of world affairs with overwhelming firepower rather than realistic political response and negotiation. Reviewing the history of American foreign policy, Kolko argues that the same policies that have produced disaster in the last five decades will continue to do so in the future. American strategists have failed once again to heed the lessons of the past, and there may be baleful consequences, for America and for the world."--BOOK JACKET.