The Violence of Peace: America's Wars in the Age of Obama Review

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The Violence of Peace: America's Wars in the Age of Obama ReviewInitially, I was not inclined to purchase this book. Its subtitle suggested a range of focus far too narrow ("America's Wars in the Age of Obama"). And since the author is a liberal Ivy League law school professor (yes, I know that description is redundant in the extreme), I figured this would be another paean to "hope and change" or a polemical indictment of Bush's war policies. But I was wrong.
First, the scope of the book is far greater than Obama's conduct of the three ongoing American conflicts: the Iraq War, the Afghanistan War, and the War on Terror. Yes, Professor Carter does dissect the President's military policies but he does so in the broader context of U.S. foreign policy, drawing upon useful historical parallels and analyzing the views of many of the right's best thinkers (e.g., Judge Posner) as well as those from the left (Jean Bethke Elshtain).
Second, considering the author's own liberal predilections, the book is quite balanced and unfailingly analytical. Carter defends his thesis--that the similarities between Bush and Obama war policies are far greater than the differences (though the subtle differences are important)--convincingly. Further, he bends over backwards to give the Bush Administration a fair hearing. Indeed, I thought he was too kind in his willingness to give Bush the benefit of the doubt on his administration's faith in the intelligence on Iraq's weapons of mass destruction. But, as he adroitly notes, even if Saddam had possessed WMDs, that, standing alone, was not justification for the invasion since there was no indication that Iraq intended to use whatever weapons it did possess against us or our allies.
Carter rightly notes, without being cynical, that Obama's aggressive use of predator drones and prisoner renditions is motivated primarily by his realization that the terrorist threats are real and that, above all else, Obama wants to be reelected in 2012. I, think, however, that he dwells a bit too much on Obama's reference to the concept of a "just war" in his Nobel peace prize acceptance speech. This was little more than a rhetorical flourish on the President's part, though I must admit that Carter's discussion of the origins of the "just war" concept was interesting.
I disagree with Carter, however, in his efforts to characterize the Afghan War as a "preventive" or "preemptive" conflict, rather than a war of self-defense (a "war of necessity," as described by both Bush and Obama). He believes the self-defense rationale is inappropriate because, at the time we invaded Afghanistan, al-Qaeda was not engaging in any actual attacks against America. While that may be technically true, we did not know whether another attack was imminent. Moreover, most people will not embrace a definition of self-defense that is limited only to those situations where your adversary continuously, without hiatus, attacks you. The fact that your adversary lacks the resources (e.g., runs out of ammunition periodically) to fire at you unceasingly does not mean that he is only a "weekend warrior," especially when that enemy has a history of attacking your people and property throughout the world. In fairness, Carter isn't suggesting that preventive or preemptive wars are inherently wrong; nevertheless, his concept of national self-defense is far too restrictive.
As you can see, Professor Carter made me think. And you can't ask much more from a book. In an age when the Current Affairs shelves at the local bookstore seem filled mostly with vapid polemics, it was a pleasant surprise to stumble upon a thoughtful examination of the military challenges we face. Highly recommended.The Violence of Peace: America's Wars in the Age of Obama Overview

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