War on Terror: Updated and Expanded

With the Cold War won and the economy booming, the United States relaxed during the 1990s, letting go the tension it had sustained for decades. All that changed on September 11, 2001. Suddenly the world rushed in, striking brutally at symbols of the very wealth and power that had underwritten the American public's geopolitical nap. The nation awoke that morning to find itself at war. But it was a strange kind of war, one without frontlines, fought in the shadows against an elusive enemy, by a country lacking a clear sense of where it would lead or how it would end. This collection traces the war on terrorism from its roots before September 11 to its all-encompassing reach afterward. Originally published in Foreign Affairs, the essays gathered here chronicle the full dimensions of the crisis and the Bush administration's response. They explore the nature of the terrorist threat, describe the motivations of the attackers, and assess the wisdom and efficacy of American actions. Together they bring the reader up to speed, providing a unique basis for informed discussion of what has happened and where to go from here.