Product Description: Now available in paperback, Chalmers Johnson's take-no-prisoners account of the consequences of American global policies, hailed as "brilliant and iconoclastic" (Los Angeles Times)
The term "blowback," invented by the CIA, refers to the unintended consequences of American policies. In this incisive and controversial book, Chalmers Johnson lays out in vivid detail the dangers faced by our overextended empire, which insists on projecting its military power to every corner of the earth and using American capital and markets to force global economic integration on its own terms. From a case of rape by U.S. servicemen in Okinawa to our role in Asia's financial crisis, from our early support for Saddam Hussein to our actions in the Balkans, Johnson reveals the ways in which our misguided policies are planting the seeds of future disaster.
In the wake of the Cold War, the United States has imprudently expanded the commitments it made over the previous forty years, argues Johnson. In Blowback, he issues a warning we would do well to consider: it is time for our empire to demobilize before our bills come due.
Amazon.com Review: If the 20th century was the American century, the 21st century may be a time of reckoning for the United States. Chalmers Johnson, an authority on Japan and its economy, offers a troubling prognosis of what's to come. Blowback--the title refers to a CIA neologism describing the unintended consequences of American activity--is a call for the United States to rethink its position in the world. "The evidence is building up that in the decade following the end of the Cold War, the United States largely abandoned a reliance on diplomacy, economic aid, international law, and multilateral institutions in carrying out its foreign policies and resorted much of the time to bluster, military force, and financial manipulation," writes Johnson. "The world is not a safer place as a result." Individual chapters focus on Okinawa (where American servicemen were accused of raping a 12-year-old girl in "Asia's last colony"), the two Koreas, China, and Japan. The result is a liberal-leaning (and Asia-centric) call for the United States to disengage from many of its global commitments. Critics will call Johnson an isolationist, but friends (perhaps admirers of Patrick Buchanan's A Republic, Not an Empire) will say he simply speaks good sense. All will agree he is an earnest voice: "I believe our very hubris ensures our undoing." --John J. Miller
Amazing and informative I have not finished this book, but after reading the first 20 pages, I learned about the wars and other raids that the United States military were involved in.
For me, I've always questioned the use of our military and our negative look at other countries. This book explains a great deal about the gray areas we don't know about.
The Best of Johnson's Trilogy! In the Introduction to the book Mr. Johnson tells the reader the circumstances of when the term "Blowback" first appeared in a government document related to covert C.I.A. actions of 1953.
The author shares his critical view of the American empire and uses the U.S. military bases in Japan and Okinawa as examples. He also examines the joint exercises that various U.S. military organizations perform with some nations known for brutal human rights violations. On accountability he made this observation, "The Pentagon's most recent route around accountability is 'privatization' of it's training activities."
Another aspect of American imperialism is the actions of the International Monetary Fund that often leads to political instability. On financing he discusses the enormous sums of money in the U.S defense budget to maintain access to Persian Gulf oil and why that's a priority.
"The American Empire has become skilled at developing self-fulfilling and self-serving prophecies in order to justify it's policies." -page 92. No truer words have been written about the subject.
He offers up an accurate assessment of free trade, particularly with China. "The second aspect of human rights in China we must recognize is to ensure that poor working conditions and prison labor in China (and elsewhere) do not end up destroying the livelihood of American workers."
Chalmers Johnson clarified the financial as well as the military aspect of the American empire citing the positions of Adam Smith and John Hobson. "Smith and Hobson both believed that finance capitalism produced the pathologies of the global economy they called mercantilism and imperialism." He observes that capitalists are seldom happy with being capitalists and would prefer being monopolists, inside traders, or usurers.
After reading all three of Chalmers Johnson's trilogy books, I regard "Blowback, Second Edition" as the best. If you want to understand how the American empire works and why blowback happens, this book is a "must read". It covers the many aspects of American imperialism and in an easily understood fashion. Destined to be a foreign policy classic, if it isn't already!
American Empire Triology Chalmers Johnson in "Blowback" presciently and eerily predicts 9/11 or a similar event. Published in 2000 the analysis should be required reading for all interested in foreign policy and how the "American Empire" is perceived by those subject to it. An outstanding contribution to the literature.
Fascinating Nutshell review - A fascinating look at the build up and consequence of American military power and presence across the globe. Interesting, well written, and very worth reading whether one agrees with the conclusions or not.
A fascinating book. `Blowback' is the term the CIA uses to refer to the unintended consequences of American actions abroad. The author makes the reader aware of the dangers faced by the US Empire, which he feels has been overextended, with about 19 military bases worldwide. The US insists on projecting its military power to every corner of the earth and to force global economic integration on its own terms. I remember once a Chinese leader commenting, "Why should we live by the standards set by the US?" In other words, who says the US way of life is the best there is and we should all follow it? This method of dictating what's right and what is not to the rest of the world angers a lot of people according to the author, and will one day cause a blowback against US interests.
The author asks, "Why are there still US bases in Japan?" He then asks if the American people would like it if other nations had military bases on US soil.
The US is not liked in Japan for many reasons. The US dropped two atomic bombs on them, one on Hiroshima and another on Nagasaki, killing many innocent women, children, and the elderly. The blowback from this atrocious act is still to come. Today such an act would be condemned worldwide. Could you imagine if India decided to nuke Pakistan, or North Korea nuked a neighboring country, what would the world's response be? Yet the US got away with it during World War II, even though Japan was on the verge of surrender before the atomic bombs were dropped. Killing civilians is unacceptable. If Russia had won the cold war, the US would today have been paying compensation to the Japanese, much like how Germany is still paying the state of Israel compensation for the atrocities it inflicted on the Jewish people under Hitler.
The author mentions rape cases on Okinawa committed by US soldiers based there. In one case, a 12 year old Japanese schoolgirl was gang raped by US soldiers. Japanese Families are upset because these soldiers are trialed in the US under US military laws which tend to be lenient with the soldiers. Furthermore, in many cases, by the time a lawsuit is brought against a US soldier, he or she no longer is on Okinawa. The US soldiers' duty time on Okinawa is only 6 months! Once a soldier leaves Japan, it is impossible for the Japanese families to bring him or her to justice. US soldiers based on Okinawa therefore get away with crimes.
Bases were also built on land owned by Japanese farmers without giving them compensation. Military maneuvers and artillery fire are constantly being performed on protected reefs around Okinawa. Furthermore, bullets made of depleted uranium at one point littered Okinawa's coast, but the Navy eventually cleaned up the shores after international pressure and outrage. How would American citizens feel if China or Russia had military bases on American soil, raped young American girls, took land from farmers without compensation, and polluted the US coast with UN prohibited depleted uranium bullets? How would the American people feel if crimes committed against them could not be trialed under US laws? For example, why didn't the soldiers involved in Abu Ghuraib prison in Iraq stand trial in an Iraqi court under Iraqi law? Similarly, the US fighter pilots involved in the cable car accident in Italy stood trial in the US and were found innocent! Why didn't they stand trial in Italy? This angered the Italians.
The author discusses Afghanistan and how the CIA started helping the Mujahedeen before the Russian invasion of Afghanistan, not after as is often believed. The CIA therefore used the Mujahedeen to fight the US war against the Soviets. Once the Soviets were defeated, the CIA dropped support for the Mujahedeen. The blowback was that the Mujahedeen turned against the US.
Interestingly, the author says that the US should withdraw all of its troops from the Middle East. If this is done, the author says, there would no longer be the hatred that Arab people feel today against the US. Imagine China had military bases in Canada, Mexico, and Cuba. How would the US people feel? Threatened? Unsafe? This is exactly how Arabs feel today.
The book also discusses the IMF and how it has destroyed the Indonesian economy. I thought that chapter on the IMF and globalization extremely interesting and thought provoking.
This is really a great book, and if you like reading Noam Chomsky, you will like this book. This book was originally published before 9/11, but has a new introduction on blowback in the post-9/11 world.
One thing to keep in mind: All empires throughout history have collapsed. The question to ask is `Why?' If the US can answer this question, it might just defeat the cycle of history.
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