NOREF - Pernicious parallels in US war policy

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Author

Mariano Aguirre

is managing director of the Norwegian Peacebuilding Resource Centre (NOREF). A journalist and analyst on international conflicts, peacebuilding and peacekeeping, he has written, co-authored and edited several books. His most recent contribution is a chapter in Megacities. The Politics of U...
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Pernicious parallels in US war policy

Mariano Aguirre, 6 January 2011
3 pages

Summary

There are remarkable parallels between the US government’s wartime policies over the past 40 years. Leaders in Washington faced very different conflict situations throughout that period, spanning US involvement in Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan. But ironically, they seem to be repeating their mistakes, based on similar ideological assumptions. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are dragging endlessly on, and massive military spending to fight what many argue are unwinnable guerrilla insurgencies are undermining the legitimacy of the United States as a superpower and exposing the limits of its military might and economic affluence.

The full article can be downloaded in a pdf or accessed at The Broker website .