Surveillance, technology, war, and the failed US policy of remote killing
Andrew Cockburn Books
Andrew Cockburn delves into the complexities of national security, dismantling pervasive myths that obscure reality. His incisive writing probes the nature of threats, offering readers a sharper understanding of global dynamics. As Washington Editor for Harper's magazine, he brings a critical eye to the forces shaping our world.
Kill Chain
- 309 pages
- 11 hours of reading
"For the first time in our military history, how we wage war is being built around a single strategy: the tracking and elimination of "high value targets"--in other words, assassination by military drone. Kill Chain is the story of how this new paradigm came to be, from WWII to the present; revealing the inner workings of these military technologies; introducing the key figures behind the transformation as well as the people on whom these deadly technologies have been tested; and illuminating the effects of drone warfare on our global image. This book will shed new light on the subject, from drone development in WWII and their use in the Vietnam War, to their embrace by the Bush administration and their controversial use by President Obama today. Cockburn will detail the corporate and political agendas that have effectively legitimized the once-banned practice of assassination, and the devastating effects of drone strikes gone awry."--Publisher information.
Why does the United States go to war? America has a long tradition of justifying war as the defense of democracy. The War on Terror was waged to protect the West from the dangers of Islamists. The US soldiers stationed in over 800 locations across the world are meant to be the righteous arbiters of justice. Against this background, Andrew Cockburn brilliantly dissects the true intentions behind Washington’s martial appetites. The American war machine can only be understood in terms of the private passions and interests of those who control it—principally a passionate interest in money. Thus, as Cockburn witheringly reports, Washington expanded NATO to satisfy an arms manufacturer’s urgent financial requirements; the US Navy’s Pacific fleet deployments were for years dictated by a corrupt contractor who bribed high-ranking officers with cash and prostitutes; senior Marine commanders agreed to a troop surge in Afghanistan in 2017 for budgetary reasons. Based on years of wide-ranging research, Cockburn lays bare the ugly reality of the largest military machine in history: as profoundly squalid as it is terrifyingly deadly.
Saddam Hussein
- 352 pages
- 13 hours of reading
At the outset of the 1991 Gulf War, US leaders resolved that "Iraqis will pay the price", so long as Saddam Hussein remained in power. This book makes chillingly clear just how terrible that price has been. Eleven years ago Saddam was caught by surprise by the allied attack; his preparations since September 11 show that lessons have been learnt. In a substantial new prologue the authors analyse Saddam's preparations and the terrifying consequences of a military invasion of Iraq.
Evolutionsökologie
- 373 pages
- 14 hours of reading
Die Evolutions kologie befa t sich mit der Entstehung der Organismenvielfalt, mit den Faktoren, die Gestalt und Verhalten der Lebewesen bestimmen, und mit den Wechselbeziehungen zwischen Arten. Dieses Buch bietet eine solide Einf hrung in die Grundlagen der Evolutions kologie und stellt die aktuellen, vielfach kontrovers diskutierten Forschungsthemen dieser Disziplin vor. Ein spezielles Kapitel zeigt, wie sich evolutions kologische Methoden und Erkenntnisse im Artenschutz anwenden lassen, und untersucht insbesondere die Ursachen des Aussterbens von Populationen, die Bedeutung genetischer Diversit t und die Risiken bei der Freisetzung gentechnisch ver nderter Lebewesen.Die Vielzahl konkreter Beispiele aus dem Tier- und Pflanzenreich sowie die eindrucksvollen, aussagekr ftigen Abbildungen lassen die Lekt re zu einem spannenden Erlebnis werden.
