Spiral: Trapped in the Forever War - Hardcover

Danner, Mark

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1476747768 ISBN 13: 9781476747767

Publisher: Simon & Schuster, 2016

Synopsis

"[A] chilling cautionary tale of Orwellian repercussions." --Kirkus Reviews

"Masterly...eloquent" --The New York Review of Books

Trapped in a forever war by 9/11, in Spiral Mark Danner describes a nation that has been altered in fundamental ways. President Bush declared a war of choice and without an exit plan, and President Obama has proven unable to take the country off what he has called its "permanent war footing."

The War on Terror has led to fourteen years of armed conflict, the longest war in America's history. Al Qaeda, the organization that attacked us on 9/11, has been "decimated" (the word is Obama's) but replaced by multiple jihadist and terror organizations, including the most notorious--ISIS.

Spiral is what we can call a perpetual and continuously widening war that has put the country in a "state of exception." Bush's promise that we have "taken the gloves off" and Obama's inability to define an end game have had a profound effect on us even though the actual combat is fought by a tiny percentage of our citizens. In the name of security, some of our accustomed rights and freedoms are circumscribed. Guantanamo, indefinite detention, drone warfare, enhanced interrogation, torture, and warrantless wiretapping are all words that have become familiar and tolerated.

And yet the war goes badly as the Middle East drowns in civil wars and the Caliphate expands and brutalized populations flee and seek asylum in Europe. In defining the War on Terror as boundless, apocalyptic, and unceasing, we have, Danner concludes, "let it define us as ideological crusaders caught in an endless war."

About this title

Review

" "Mark Danner s Spiral" lays bare the way a jihadist strategy of provocation, playing on America s infinite capacity for oversimplification and overreaction, sucked the United States into endless wars. This is a book that must be read, debated, and deeply understood if we are ever to extricate ourselves from the world of quagmires created by the global War on Terror. --Christopher Dickey, Foreign Editor of The Daily Beast"

In Mark Danner s eloquent and unsparing analysis, America s War on Terror has degenerated into a downward spiral that has tarnished its laws, its reputation and its soul. There is no better account of what the forever war has done to this country and what we need to do to get the battle against terrorism onto the right track. --Michael Ignatieff Edward R. Murrow Professor, Harvard Kennedy School"

Mark Danner has long been both an eyewitness to the wars of our time and an erudite analyst of the illusions behind them. But above all, in this wise and eloquent new book, he is a humanist and patriot appalled at how far his own country has gone off the rails. --Adam Hochschild, author of Spain in Our Hearts"

Mark Danner s Spiral lays bare the way a jihadist strategy of provocation, playing on America s infinite capacity for oversimplification and overreaction, sucked the United States into endless wars. This is a book that must be read, debated, and deeply understood if we are ever to extricate ourselves from the world of quagmires created by the global War on Terror. --Christopher Dickey, Foreign Editor of The Daily Beast"

In the growing mountain of books coming out about the War on Terror, Mark Danner s Spiral is the one you have to read. In a small book, Danner offers clarity to the complicated with a combination of tough-minded reporting and an elegant sense of classical tragedy. Spiral will make you angry, make you sad, and make you understand. --Mark Kurlansky, author of Paper: Paging Through History"

In this important book, Mark Danner shows how the War on Terror has become not just perpetual but self-perpetuating a series of misconceived policies that, designed to prevent attacks, have only bred more. Spiral is an excellent metaphor, and with force and passion, he suggests a way out. --Michael Massing, author of Now They Tell Us: The American Press and Iraq"

"Mark Danner's Spiral lays bare the way a jihadist strategy of provocation, playing on America's infinite capacity for oversimplification and overreaction, sucked the United States into endless wars. This is a book that must be read, debated, and deeply understood if we are ever to extricate ourselves from the world of quagmires created by the 'global War on Terror.'"--Christopher Dickey, Foreign Editor of The Daily Beast

"In Mark Danner's eloquent and unsparing analysis, America's War on Terror has degenerated into a downward spiral that has tarnished its laws, its reputation and its soul. There is no better account of what 'the forever war' has done to this country and what we need to do to get the battle against terrorism onto the right track."--Michael Ignatieff Edward R. Murrow Professor, Harvard Kennedy School

"In the growing mountain of books coming out about the War on Terror, Mark Danner's Spiral is the one you have to read. In a small book, Danner offers clarity to the complicated with a combination of tough-minded reporting and an elegant sense of classical tragedy. Spiral will make you angry, make you sad, and make you understand."--Mark Kurlansky, author of Paper: Paging Through History

"In this important book, Mark Danner shows how the War on Terror has become not just perpetual but self-perpetuating--a series of misconceived policies that, designed to prevent attacks, have only bred more. Spiral is an excellent metaphor, and with force and passion, he suggests a way out."--Michael Massing, author of Now They Tell Us: The American Press and Iraq

About the Author

Mark Danner has written about foreign affairs and American politics for three decades, covering Latin America, Haiti, the Balkans, and the Middle East. He was for many years a staff writer at The New Yorker, and contributes frequently to The New York Review of Books, The New York Times Magazine, and many other publications. He teaches at the University of California, Berkeley, and at Bard College and speaks widely about America's role in the world. Among his books are Spiral, Stripping Bare the Body, Torture and Truth, and The Massacre at El Mozote.

About this edition

• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Publication date: 2016
• ISBN 10: 1476747768
• ISBN 13: 9781476747767
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 267