The Limits of Power: The End of American Exceptionalism

The Limits of Power
Andrew J. Bacevich
Professor of history and international relationsa at Boaston University, retired from the US Army with the rank of colonel

Recommended by Conrad Simonds

Manifest Destiny may be a part of American history but it is alive and well in the form of what Bacevich calls "American Exceptionalism." This exceptionalism plays itself out on the international political front in places like Iraq and here at home in the daily lives of Americans through an "ethic of self-gratification" most visibly seen in flagrant American consumption without any sense of the long-term cost of what we consume.

Bacavich calls on Reinhold Neibhur throughout the book as a voice of wisdom from the past. I actually studied him in seminary and when you google his name Barak Obama comes up. Pretty interesting.

I have struggled with this post since I finished the book two days ago. I want to re-create his argument about freedom, the erroneous path we are on and some of his insights into ways to fix them but keep stumbling. I am going to instead include some of the many quotes I highlighted and hope to give you snap shots that compel you to read it or at least look it up online. Bacavich did an internview with Bill Moyers which I have not seen but which was the inspiration of the gift of this book from a friend of mine.

"To insist that the liberation of others has never been more than an ancillary motive of US policy is not cynicism; it is a prerequisite to self-understanding." (pg19 - 20)

"Neibuhr once wrote that 'the whole drama of history is enacted in a frame of meaning too large for human comprehension or management.' Acknowledging the truth of that dictum ought to be a prerequisite for election or appointment to high office. If policy makers persist in pretending otherwise, they will court disasters that may yet make the ongoig mimsadventure in Iraq appear almost trivial." (pg 122)

[I love this. As someone who reads a lot about war, I love this simple argument against the Bush administrations belief that they found a way to wage a different, more streamlined, technologically advanced war. War as the deliverer of freedom. War is hell and no framing or marketing ploys will make it other than death, destruction and tragedy. Albeit, sometimes necessary. But let's enter it with an impeccable strategy and with the lives of our soldiers at the forefront of every decision.]

"As the novelist and World War II veteran Norman Mailer put it, 'Fighting a war to fix something works about as good as going to a whore house to get rid of a clap.' As a problem solver, war leaves much to be desired." (pg 162)

"Folly of Preventive War"

"The Lost Art of Strategy"

"One possible alternative is to pursue a strategy of containment. Such a strategy has worked before, against a far more formidable adversary. It can work again as a framework for erecting effective defenses. The main purpose of containment during the cold war was to frustrate the Kremlin's efforts to extend Soviet influence. The purpose of containment today should be to prevent the sponsors of radical Islam from extending their influence.

The basic orientation of this strategy is defensive; yet its ultimate aim is not to accommodate but to overcome." (pg. 176)

I will leave you with a final Niebuhr quote: "For all nations, Niebuhr once observed, 'The desire to gain an immediate selfish advantage always imperils their ultimate interests. If they recognize this fact, they usually recognize it too late.'" (pg 182)

For more on Reinhold Neibuhr
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reinhold_Niebuhr

The Limits of Power on Amazon.com
http://www.amazon.com/Limits-Power-American-Exceptionalism-Project/dp/0805088156