The
Limits of Power
The End of American Exceptionalism
Andrew J.
Bacevich
New York: Metropolitan Books
Copyright © 2008 by
Andrew J. Bacevich
224 pages
ISBN-10: 0805088156
ISBN-13:
978-0805088151
Notes & Index
Bill Moyers, on his Bill Moyers Journal, said:
“The
limits of American power have never been more vividly on display.
That's the subject of my conversation this week with Andrew J.
Bacevich. Here is a public thinker who has been able to find an
audience across the political spectrum, from The Nation or The
American Conservative magazines, lecturing to college classes or
testifying before Confess. [To read or view the two part, highly
enlightening, conversation between Bill Moyers and Andrew Bacevich,
click HERE]
“Bacevich speaks truth to power, no matter who's in power, which may be why those of both the left and right listen to him.”
Moyers' interview of Bacevich on his August 15, 2008 program began with: “It's been a long time since I've read a book in which I highlighted practically every third sentence. So, it took me a while to read, what is in fact, a rather short book. You began with a quote from the Bible, the Book of Second Kings, chapter 20, verse one. 'Set thine house in order.'”
I, like Bill Moyers, underlined a lot, and I mean a lot, of the sentences in this book. From the beginning to end this work challenges our thinking about our nation and the relation of our nation to the rest of the world, with particular attention to the post 9/11 dynamics.
Andrew J. Bacevich is a professor of history and international relations at Boston University. He retired from the United States Army with the rank of colonel. In addition to his former book, The New American Militarism, his writings have appeared in Foreign Affairs, The Atlantic Monthly, The Nation, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Wall Street Journal.
What was particularly compelling to me in this work was Bacevich's weaving of the writings of Reinhold Niebuhr's writings into his analysis of the current reliance of the United States on the military to maintain our status as a superpower. The interjection of Niebuhr not only demonstrates the prophetic vision of this renowned theologian, but brings the events of the current day into extreme focus for any pastor.
To note that this work challenges our current conceptions is an understatement. Bacevich says in his Introduction: “Certain of our own benign intentions, we reflexively assign responsibility for war to others, typically malignant Hitler-like figures inexplicably bent on denying us the peace that is our fondest wish.
“This book challenges that supposition. It argues that the actions of Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden, however malevolent, cannot explain why the United States today finds itself enmeshed in seemingly never-ending conflict.”
Andrew Bacevich notes that Reinhold Niebuhr was not encumbered by illusions concerning the nature of man, the possibilities of politics, or the pliability of history. He further notes that “realism and humility formed the core of his worldview, each infused with a deeply felt Christian sensibility.... The enemy of realism is hubris, which in Niebuhr's day, and in our own, finds expression in an outsized confidence in the efficacy of American power as an instrument to reshape the global order.”
The Limits of Power is a book that evokes reflection, compels introspection, and matures a desire to approach the challenges of the 21st century from a more encompassing strategy.
This
is one book about war and the folly of war, written by a warrior,
that drives me to my knees.
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