AFGHANISTAN AND IRAQ are the latest in a string of blunders that
includes Vietnam and an unintended war with China from 1950 to '53,
those four fiascoes being just the worst moments in nearly a
lifetime of false urgencies, intelligence failures, grandiose
designs, and stereotyping of enemies and allies alike. America
brought down the Soviet empire at the cold war's most dangerous
juncture, but even that victory was surrounded by myths, such as
the conviction that we can easily shape the destinies of other
people.
"
Magic and Mayhem "is a strikingly original, closely informed
investigation of two generations of America's avoidable failures.
In a perfectly timed narrative, Derek Leebaert reveals the common
threads in these serial letdowns and in the consequences that
await. He demonstrates why the most enterprising and innovative
nation in history keeps mishandling its gravest politico-military
dealings abroad and why well-credentialed men and women, deemed
brilliant when they arrive in Washington, consistently end up
leading the country into folly.
Misjudgments of this scale arise from a pattern of self-deception
best described as "magical thinking." When we think magically, we
conjure up beliefs that everyone wants to be like us, that America
can accomplish anything out of sheer righteousness, and that our
own wizardly policymakers will enable gigantic desires like
"transforming the Middle East" to happen fast. Mantras of
"stability" or "democracy" get substituted for reasoned reflection.
Faith is placed in high-tech silver bullets, whether drones over
Pakistan or helicopters in Vietnam.
Leebaert exposes these magical notions by using new archival
material, exclusive interviews, his own insider experiences, and
portraits of the men and women who have succumbed: George Kennan,
Henry Kissinger, Robert McNamara, Donald Rumsfeld, Dick Cheney, and
Presidents Kennedy, Carter, and George W. Bush all appear
differently in the light of magic, as do wise men from Harvard,
Georgetown, Stanford, and think tanks such as RAND and Brookings,
as well as influential players from the media and, occasionally,
the military, including General David Petraeus as he personifies
the nation's latest forays into counterinsurgency.
"
Magic and Mayhem "offers vital insights as to how Americans
imagine, confront, and even invite danger. Only by understanding
the power of illusion can we break the spell, and then better apply
America's enduring strengths in a world that will long need them.
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