Terrorism and War [Paperback]

What I appreciated more than the arguments made for this case (which can be found in the literature of any self-respecting progressive or anti-war organization) are the chances that the questioner gives Dr. Zinn to explain his personal views on various aspects of war, pacifism, patriotism, civil liberties and politics, both in the present day and throughout history. As a veteran of the "Good War" who has come to believe that there is no such thing as a 'good war,' Zinn explains the reasoning that lead him to this conclusion, demonstrating warfare's inability to improve the world and discussing viable alternatives to mass killing.

In this well-organized publication, Zinn is also able to fire back at attackers who have accused him (and others) of "blaming America first" (a reference to the 1940s pseudofascist pro-Nazi organization 'America First'). Comparing this to the tactics used by McCarthyists in the 1950s, he illustrates how it is just a part of a largely successful effort to intimidate, marginalize and silence any who may be opposed to war or simply want to examine the roots of terrorism and "why they hate us". Neither Dr. Zinn nor this book are anti-American in any way; no one should be frightened away by any such baseless accusations.

All in all, this slim volume contains far more worthwhile discussion than I can summarize here. From optimism and alternatives for the future to America's historical support for global terrorism and anti-democratic forces, Dr. Zinn's considerable historical knowledge and capacity for critical analysis emanates from every page. Dozens of reference notes have been added by the editor to the text of the interviews, and the book includes a useful index, bibliography, and contact information for a variety of anti-war and alternative information sources. Excerpts from the Geneva Protocols are also included in an appendix. This short volume is an easy and informative read which I enthusiastically recommend to anyone who has a couple of hours to spare.

"Terrorism and War" is a collection of interviews (both Zinn and Chomsky are at their best when speaking, as their writing is too scholarly.) Throughout, Zinn speaks about our need and Constitutionally protected right to dissent, or more specifically, our right to oppose war.

Packed with news accounts and historical facts (10% of the book is notes and index), Zinn systematically proves that the war on terrorism, as currently being waged, is not a just response and will only make things worse in the future. He is not opposed to a response, even a violent one, but he feels that the bombing of Afghanistan and the targeting of Iraq are unjust and incredibly harmful to us.

Read this book, then debate the war with someone you know who either supports it or is unsure. There is a very large group of people who, if given a dose of truth, will start seeing both sides of the story. Save yourself the time and ignore the ones who actively support the war, they will just call you un-American and nothing you say will change their closed hawkish minds.

Highly recommended - Discuss this book!!

Zinn puts the tragic events of September 11th in perspective by sewing a "Made in U.S.A." label on terrorism: "In its foreign policy, the United States has consigned several million people to their deaths and supported terrorist governments in various parts of the world ...You might say that there is a reservoir of possible terrorists among all those people in the world who have suffered as a result of U.S. foreign policy."

He goes on to expose the hypocrisy of the "war on terrorism," noting that, "There is a precise division between who we bomb and who we do not bomb. The division has nothing to do with which countries are harboring terrorists. The division has only to do with which countries we don't control yet. The countries that we control, like Turkey and Saudi Arabia, can harbor as many terrorists as they want. We will look elsewhere."

While Zinn's treatment of the Bush administration is never less than scathing, he sees no alternative in the Democratic party, "which has played such a pitifully obsequious role in this whole affair."

Instead, Terrorism and War is remarkable for its faith in the power of ordinary people. Zinn and Arnove, who between them seem to have read everything ever written, quote activists and revolutionaries from Frederick Douglass to Eugene Debs to Emma Goldman to illustrate the fact that the US government has always used war and repression to achieve its ends-and that it has always been resisted. By rooting today's anti-war movement in a tradition of struggle, they open a window to hope and practical advice from the past.

Though in one of the earlier essays, Zinn presents some rather unconvincing solutions to the problems of war and terrorism-calling on the US to be "a more modest nation," that no longer "[needs] to be a superpower," by the end of the book, he acknowledges that there will be no end to war without an end to capitalism: "[T]he left is in a position of continually opposing war after war after war, without getting at the root of the problem-which is the economic system under which we live, which needs war and makes war inevitable."