The United States of War: A Global History of America's Endless Conflicts, from Columbus to the Islamic StateThe United States has been fighting wars constantly since invading Afghanistan in 2001. This nonstop warfare is far less exceptional than it might seem: the United States has been at war or has invaded other countries almost every year since independence. In The United States of War, David Vine traces this pattern of bloody conflict from Columbus’s 1494 arrival in Guantanamo Bay through the 250-year expansion of a global US empire. Drawing on historical and firsthand anthropological research in fourteen countries and territories, The United States of War demonstrates how US leaders across generations have locked the United States in a self-perpetuating system of permanent war by constructing the world’s largest-ever collection of foreign military bases—a global matrix that has made offensive interventionist wars more likely. Beyond exposing the profit-making desires, political interests, racism, and toxic masculinity underlying the country’s relationship to war and empire, The United States of War shows how the long history of U.S. military expansion shapes our daily lives, from today’s multi-trillion–dollar wars to the pervasiveness of violence and militarism in everyday U.S. life. The book concludes by confronting the catastrophic toll of American wars—which have left millions dead, wounded, and displaced—while offering proposals for how we can end the fighting. |
Contents
Conquest | 21 |
Occupied | 35 |
Why Are So Many Places Named Fort? | 43 |
Invading Your Neighbors | 63 |
The Permanent Indian Frontier | 76 |
Going Global | 99 |
The Military Opens Doors | 125 |
Reopening the Frontier | 138 |
OutofControl War | 272 |
War Is the Mission | 286 |
Ending Endless Wars | 313 |
Gratitude and Thanks | 331 |
U S Wars Combat and Other | 337 |
Notes | 347 |
Suggested Resources | 409 |
Empire of Bases | 153 |
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The United States of War: A Global History of America's Endless Conflicts ... David Vine Limited preview - 2021 |
The United States of War: A Global History of America's Endless Conflicts ... David Vine Limited preview - 2020 |
Common terms and phrases
accessed February Afghanistan Africa Air Base Air Force allies American Military History Asia Base Colonies Britain British Catherine Lutz century Chagossians China civilian combat Command Congress Cuba David Vine decolonization Defense deploy Diego Garcia displaced Dunbar-Ortiz economic Euro-American European expansion foreign bases forts Germany global Guam Guantánamo Bay Hawaiʻi helped Honduras hundred Immerwahr Indian indigenous invasion Iraq Island Japan Korea land Leffler lily pads Mexico Middle East mili military presence million Native American naval Navy North occupied Okinawa operations overseas bases Pacific Panama Pentagon Philippines political President Puerto Rico Quoted Roosevelt Saudi Arabia settlers soldiers Soviet Spain Spanish Strategic territory thousand tion TomDispatch treaty Turse U.S. Army U.S. Empire U.S. forces U.S. government U.S. imperialism U.S. leaders U.S. military U.S. Military Bases U.S. officials U.S. troops U.S. Virgin Islands U.S. wars United University Press Vietnam violence Washington West World World War II York