The Right War?
The Conservative Debate on Iraq
Published on 8. August 2005
Book
Hardback
264 pages
978-0-521-85681-2 (ISBN)
Description
To declare oneself a conservative in American foreign policy is to enter immediately into a fractious, long-standing debate. Should America retreat from the world, deal with the world as it is, or try to transform it in its own image? Which school of thought - traditionalist, realist, or neoconservative - is closest to the country's ideals and interests? With the dramatic shift in American foreign policy since 9/11, these differences have been brought into stark relief, especially by the Bush administration's decision to go to war in Iraq. This book brings together the most articulate and influential voices in the debate among conservatives over the tactics and strategy of America's engagement in Iraq. The collection runs the gamut from protests to second thoughts to full-throated endorsements. The contributors are major conservative spokesmen whose ideological influences have a role in guiding the Bush administration as it formulates its policy goals for Iraq.
Reviews / Votes
'The ideas and controversies described in this striking book will go far to shape American foreign policy in the Bush years and beyond. Every serious student of American foreign policy needs to consult this fresh and comprehensive collection.' Walter Russell Mead, Kissinger Senior Fellow in U.S. Foreign Policy, Council on Foreign Relations 'Valuable hindsight and foresight about the war in Iraq.' Former U.S. Secretary of State George P. Shultz 'A fascinating survey of state-of-the-art thinking on U.S. foreign policy, a lively debate between realists and neoconservatives, and an excellent intellectual guide for the perplexed.' Josef Joffe, Editor, Die Zeit and Abramowitz Fellow, Hoover Institution at Stanford 'This collection is an indispensable guide to the most intellectually interesting and politically important debate in the U.S. on the war in Iraq. It should be on the shelf of every analyst of contemporary American policy.' Anatol Lieven, Senior Research Fellow, New America Foundation 'Without a doubt The Right War? makes a valuable contribution both to intellectual history and to the battle of ideas that is still raging in the nation's op-ed pages. ... This debate is encapsulated in Mr. Rosen's timely, intelligently selected and highly recommended book.' Wall Street Journal (Europe) '... this book provides a fine overview of the battle betweeen pet ideological prejudices and concern for the common good that is currently playing itself out on more than one front where the American right is concerned.' International AffairsMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
Cambridge
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
College/higher education
Dimensions
Height: 235 mm
Width: 157 mm
Thickness: 19 mm
Weight
540 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-521-85681-2 (9780521856812)
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Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
10/2005
1st Edition
Cambridge University Press
€26.49
Available for download
Book
08/2005
Cambridge University Press
€39.50
Shipment within 15-20 days
Person
Gary Rosen is the managing editor of Commentary Magazine. He holds a PhD in political science from Harvard and is the author of American Compact: James Madison and the Problem of Founding. His articles and reviews have appeared in Commentary, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and the Washington Post. His television appearances include MSNBC, the BBC, C-Span, and the History Channel. He is the former senior editor of the Manhattan Institute's City Journal.
Content
Introduction Gary Rosen; 1. 'Iraq's Future - and Ours' Victor Davis Hanson; 2. 'The right war for the right reasons' Robert Kagan and William Kristol; 3. 'Iraq: losing the American way' James Kurth; 4. 'Intervention with a vision' Henry A. Kissinger; 5. 'An end to illusion' the Editors of National Review; 6. 'Quitters' Andrew Sullivan; 7. 'A more humble hawk'/'crisis of confidence' David Brooks; 8. 'Time for Bush to see the realities of Iraq' George F. Will; 9. 'Iraq may survive, but the dream is dead' Fouad Ajami; 10. 'The perils of hegemony' Owen Harries; 11. 'Like it's 1999: how we could have done it right' Fareed Zakaria; 12. 'Reality Check - this is war'/'In modern imperialism, U.S. needs to walk softly' Max Boot; 13. 'A time for reckoning: ten lessons to take away from Iraq' Andrew J. Bacevich; 14. 'World War IV: how it started, what it means, and why we have to win' Norman Podhoretz; 15. 'The neoconservative moment' Francis Fukuyama; 16. 'In defense of democratic realism' Charles Krauthammer; 17. 'Stay the course!' is not enough' Patrick J. Buchanan; 18. 'Realism's shining morality' Robert F. Ellsworth and Dimitri K. Simes; 19. 'Has Iraq weakened us?' Victor Davis Hanson; 20. 'Democracy and the Bush doctrine' Charles R. Kesler; 21. 'A time for humility' Eliot A. Cohen; 22. 'Birth of a democracy' Reuel Marc Gerecht.