Sitting on Bayonets : America's Endless War on Terror and the Paths to Peace

Spicer, Keith

ISBN 10: 1460994736 / ISBN 13: 9781460994733

Published by CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2011

About this Item

Unread book in perfect condition.

Seller Inventory # 14037919

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Sitting on Bayonets : America's Endless War on Terror and the Paths to Peace
• Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
• Publication Date: 2011
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1460994736
• ISBN 13: 9781460994733
• Binding: Soft cover
• Condition: As New

About this title

Synopsis

The book is about America's unending "war on terror" -- how it is being lost, and how it could be won. Napoleon’s remark about bayonets fits well America’s inclination to see world affairs in military terms. Analyzing Islam and the 2011 Arab uprisings, the book explains U.S. militaristic culture, and shows how invading Muslim lands, and backing “safe” strongmen, clearly fosters terrorism. Strong national defense demands robust, multi-faceted counter-terrorism. But radical Islam opens a contest of ideas. And arms can’t defeat ideas, only better ideas can. The West’s “weapons of mass construction” -- freedom, dignity and democracy – have universal appeal. Promoting these through “smart options” – useful education, job-creating small-business training, and cultural development – isn’t naïve. It’s hard-nosed, more budget-friendly, national defense – especially when it benefits Muslim girls and women, the ultimate peace-builders of Islamic society.

About the Author

Keith Spicer is a journalist and writer who for 50 years has moved between media, government, business and academia. He has taught international relations at the University of Toronto, Dartmouth College, UCLA, the Sorbonne, and the UN-linked University for Peace, where he founded and ran for seven years the Media, Peace & Security Program. For 14 years, he occupied senior positions in the Canadian government - as the nation's first Commissioner of Official Languages, then as Chairman of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (counterpart of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission). A long-term resident of France, Spicer considers himself a "decaffeinated American" - a "typically undemonstrative Canadian fascinated in equal measure by America's outrageous faults and inspiring virtues."