American Empire Project

"An urgent book."--Arundhati Roy
Three years after the start of the war in Iraq, violence and misery continue to plague the country, and conservatives and liberals alike are struggling with the question of when--and under what circumstances--U.S. and coalition forces should leave. In this cogent and compelling book, Anthony Arnove argues that the U.S. occupation is the major source of instability and suffering for the Iraqi people. Challenging the idea that George W. Bush was ever interested in bringing democracy to Iraq--and the view widely held across the political spectrum that it would be more damaging to leave prematurely--Arnove explores the real reasons behind the invasion. He shows why continuing the occupation is a wildly unrealistic and reckless strategy that makes the world a more dangerous place.
"" "Iraq: The Logic of Withdrawal" concludes by laying out a clear vision for the antiwar movement, one that engages soldiers, military families, and the many communities affected by the occupation, who together, Arnove argues, can build the coalition needed to bring the troops home. Anthony Arnove is the editor (with Howard Zinn) of "Voices of a People"'"s History of the United States." He is also the editor of "Iraq Under Siege": " The Deadly Impact of Sanctions and War and of Terrorism and War," a collection of post-September 11 interviews with Howard Zinn. Arnove's writing has appeared in "Financial Times," "The Nation," "Monther Jones, " and many other publications. He lives in New York City. Almost four years after the start of the war in Iraq, violence and misery continue to plague the country, and conservatives and liberals alike are struggling with the question of when--and under what circumstances--U.S. and coalition forces should leave. In this book, Anthony Arnove argues that the U.S. occupation is the major source of instability and suffering for the Iraqi people. Challenging the idea that George W. Bush was ever interested in bringing democracy to Iraq--and the view widely held across the political spectrum that it would be more damaging to leave prematurely--Arnove shows why continuing the occupation is a wildly unrealistic and reckless strategy that makes the world a more dangerous place. "Iraq": "The Logic of Withdrawal" concludes by laying out a clear vision for building a movement to bring the troops home. "A compelling and courageous call to do the only right thing: bring the troops home now "--Mike Davis "Arnove's arguments are persuasive and his logic undeniable."--Tariq Ali "A compelling brief against America's new imperial venture."--Frances Fox Piven "An impassioned, unflinching case for immediate U.S. withdrawal. Read this book and bring the troops home now."--Eve Ensler "Three years into the U.S. occupation of Iraq, the dire predictions of the prewar opposition have proved remarkably prescient, notes activist, writer and editor Arnove in this impassioned, categorical argument for immediate withdrawal. But today's broad sentiment against the war--including the opinions of Americans who explicitly align themselves with an antiwar movement--remains deeply divided on the question of pulling U.S. forces out right away. Arnove, whose book title pays homage to historian and colleague Howard Zinn's classic foray into the Vietnam War debate, accordingly offers a point-by-point challenge to the assumptions underlying arguments accepted by war skeptics for supporting (however reluctantly) an increasingly bloody occupation. His clearly written, well-sourced anti-imperialist critique identifies fear, racism, religiosity, hunger for oil and a 'civilizing' pretense behind the Bush administration's rhetoric on the Iraq war and places the conflict in a historical, economic, political and ideological context. Arnove's persuasive reasoning and summaries of relevant events (with two eloquent bracketing essays by Zinn) will prove an invaluable resource to antiwar voices, if unlikely to change adamantly prowar minds."--"Publishers Weekly"