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 Rogue NationAmerican Unilateralism And The Failure Of Good Intentionsby Clyde V. Prestowitz May 11, 2004
DescriptionAmerica's democratic ideals have long been the hope of the world, but our allies increasingly see us as abandoning those ideals. It's not hard to understand why. In the months before 9/11, the United States walked away from a number of international treaties including the Kyoto Accord. After the attack, the United States turned a cold shoulder to NATO's offers to assist with the invasion of Afghanistan, unilaterally terminated the ABM treaty, and actively opposed the creation of an International Criminal Court. Then came the war on Iraq, begun despite the clear refusal of the United Nations Security Council to authorize an invasion. Obsessed with our own immediate military and economic security, we now deem institutions like NATO and the UN irrelevant. We have abandoned containment for a policy of preventive attacks on potential threats. More and more, we act alone, with little regard for the needs and goals of other nations. Rogue Nation is not an argument against American dominance or the exercise of American power. It's an argument against stupidity, arrogance, and ignorance in the exercise of power. Prestowitz explores the historical roots of the unilateral impulse and shows how it now influences every important area of American foreign policy. Even now, when the need for multilateral action has never been greater, we continue to act contrary to international law, custom, and our own best interests. Reviews"This is a fascinating big picture look at America and its place in the world. It should help provoke the kind of discussion that we have long needed." "If you want to know how the American colossus looks to the rest of the world, Rogue Nation, by Clyde Prestowitz, is your book.... The forbidding details of international commerce... are explained with welcome clarity, and without a trace of antiglobalist cant." "Mr. Prestowitz's book deserves to be read even by those who utterly reject his thesis for its courage, its clarity and its attempts to see the United States as all too many others see it." "An invaluable guide to the reasons why so much of the world believes the U.S. has turned away from its own values.... Prestowitz writes crisply, with chapters that are clear, digestible primers to America's problems around the world." "Mr. Prestowitz says that 'we need to rethink American exceptionalism,' recognizing that other people's problems 'are our problems too and that we don't have all the answers.' This is not a popular message in Washington today, but that's where it needs to be heard." "If you want to find out how the U.S. lost the once ample reserves of political goodwill it held around the world, Clyde Prestowitz' persuasive and well-documented Rogue Nation is the book for you." "Prestowitz has done us an enormous service by pointing out that the men and women who call themselves conservatives today are truly radicals who have alienated America's friends everywhere." Selling TerritoryWorld |
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