ashthomas//blog: Imperial Hubris review

ashthomas//blog

Friday, October 15, 2004

Imperial Hubris review

I just finished reading one of the most important books of the year, Imperial Hubris: Why the West Is Losing the War on Terror, by Anonymous. The author, who has been identiefied by Jason Vest in the Boston Phoenix as being Michael Scheuer, argues that the main problem in our war on terrorism is a failing to understand the enemy. He argues that by looking at the enemy on their own terms, but learning about the source of their discontent, we can better fight them. Osama bin Laden must be reassessed and not seen as a lunatic or violent criminal, but rather as a political warrior:
There is no reason, based on the information at hand, to believe bin Laden is anything other than what he appears: a pious, charismatic, gentle, generous,
talented, and personally courageous Muslim who is blessed with sound strategic and tactical judgment, able lieutenants, a reluctant but indispensable bloody-mindedness, and extraordinary patience.

The implications for the war on terror are serious: Scheuer argues that we are in a long-term conflict that will not end with the capture or death of al-Qaeda's leadership. And it will be a long, bitter, bloody fight:

America is in a war for survival. Not survival in terms of protecting territory, but in terms of keeping the ability to live as we want, not as we must....There are two choices. We can continue using and believing the cant cited above, or we can act to preserve our way of life — what Mr. Lincoln said is man’s last best hope for self-government — by engaging in whatever martial behavior is needed. We owe this to ourselves, our heritage and our posterity. We protect none of these by cloaking cowardice with canting words about international comity, civilized norms, and high moral standards. Such words are proper only in a suicide note for the nation.

Imperial Hubris is a fascinating piece of work--it completely changed my understanding of the position of the Islamic extremists. It is an important book that anyone interested in how to fight and win this war should read.

For more information about Scheuer's ideas, read his interview with Spencer Ackerman that was published on TalkingPointsMemo: part one, part two, part three. Also take a look at the discussion of that interview on Political Animal.

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