The analysis is always spot on , but I could do without the editorializing ( )

This (along with the other 2 books in the triogy, Blowback and Nemesis, is an important read for anyone concerned about the future of the US, both economically and politically. Will we gracefully dismantle our empire of some 747 military bases (not including Iraq and Afghanistan) over 500,000 troops, spies, contractors, dependents, and other on military bases located in 130 countries (there are only 192 countries in the UN) and the bloated military budget that goes with it, or will we take the suicide option of bankruptcy. We appear to have opted for suicide.

"Like all empires of the past, the American version of empire is destined to come to an end, either voluntarily or of necessity. When that will occur is impossible to foretell, but the pressures of America's massive indebtedness, the growing contradiction between the needs of its civilian economy and its military-industrial complex, and its dependence on a volunteer army and innumerable private contractors strongly indicate an empire built on fragile foundations. Over the next few years resistance to military overtures is likely to grow, meaning the agenda of national politics will be increasingly dominated by issues of empire liquidation -- peacefully or otherwise." p 127 ( )

The analysis is always spot on , but I could do without the editorializing ( )

This posthumous collection of essays from TomDispatch.com (plus two essays from other sources) lacks the coherence of the books in the Blowback trilogy, but it does collect all we have of the early notes toward what could have been another book in Johnson's series about the American "empire of bases". ( )

This book has lots of interesting information about how wide-ranging U.S. military committments have become (and how irrelevant to our interests) and about some of the many ways in which the military wastes our money. It also has one big conclusion -- that the United States can no longer afford its massive world wide military committments. But the book is disappointing compared to the same author' "Blowback" and to Bacevich's recent book on the same topic "Washington Rules". The difficulty with "Dismantling the Empire" is that it is a series of essays, rather than a structured argument, which weakens the argument. Still, it is worth reading -- the more Americans learn about just what is being done in their name, and about just how much it costs, the better the odds on imposing some sort of limit on the military industrial complex. ( )