September 11 and the U.S. War: Beyond the Curtain of Smoke

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An informative collection of essays by journalists, activists, and political theorists providing the historical, political, and intellectual context for understanding the events and the consequences of September 11 and America’s “War on Terrorism.”

This collection of essays by activists, journalists, historians, and political theorists outlines the U.S. policies that contributed to the tragedy of 9/11, the consequences of the new war, and suggestions for options and alternatives, such as grassroots organizing linked to the antiglobalization movement and the strengthening of institutions like the International Criminal Court and the United Nations.

Editors Roger Burbach and Ben Clarke combed through hundreds of articles and essays written in the months succeeding the attack to select this powerful collection that will provide the reader with an intellectual basis for a vigorous, passionate, and creative resistance to the horrendous policies and practices now undertaken in the name of the “war on terrorism.”

The book includes:
Frontline coverage of the Afghan war by London Independent correspondent Robert Fisk.

Excerpts from Professor Marc Herold’s extensive study which documents 3,500 civilian deaths due to U.S. bombings in Afghanistan.

A critical media study of U.S. government attempts at censorship by media critic Normon Solomon.

Systematic analysis of civil rights infringements by constitutional scholar Michael Ratner.

Detailed examinations of U.S. foreign policy toward the Middle East and Islam by noted researchers Stephen Zunes, Michael T. Klare, John Tirman, and Zoltan Grossman.

Commentaries and analysis that link September 11 to more specific U.S. policies, ranging from the coup in Chile in 1973 to the UN Conference on Racism in 2001 by Linda Burnham, Fran Beal, David Bacon, and others.

Overviews of Caspian Sea and Southwest Asian pipeline politics by Ben Clarke, Ted Rall, and Dimitris Yannopoulos, which bring to light the economic motives behind US military strategy.

Critical historical documents such as Representative Barbara Lee’s singular voice in Congress voting against the granting of virtually unlimited war powers to the Bush administration, and the declaration of Tahmeena Faryal of the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan before a committee of the House of Representatives.

Statements of resistance which range from Spanish antiterrorist Judge Baltasar Garzón’s indictment of Western leaders that need be held accountable for inflicting terror on innocent civilians to Wendell Berry, who looks at the basic failure of massive retaliation and violence as methods for resolving conflict.

Strategies and visions for resistance from antiglobalization activists and theorists Susan George, Walden Bello, Roger Burbach, and Starhawk.

Contributors: Tariq Ali, David Bacon, Paul Bass, Frances Beal, Walden Bello, Wendell Berry, Roger Burbach, Linda Burnham, Michel Chossudovsky, Ben Clarke, Jeff Cohen, Robert Fisk, Eduardo Galeano, Judge Baltasar Garzón, Susan George, Zoltan Grossman, Conn Hallinan, Marc Herold, Barbara Kingsolver, Michael Klare, Barbara Lee, Martin Lee, Manning Marable, Aurora Levins Morales, Asra Q. Nomani, Michael Parenti, Margot Pepper, David Potorti, RAWA, Ted Rall, Michael Ratner, Arundhati Roy, Norman Solomon, Starhawk, John Tirman, Dimitris Yannopoulos, Howard Zinn, and Stephen Zunes

Ben Clarke is editor of MediaFile, the journal of media analysis published by San Francisco-based Media Alliance. In 1994 he coedited the first English-language collection of communiqués and interviews from Mexico’s Zapatistas, Voice of Fire.

Roger Burbach is director of Global Alternatives at the Center for the Study of the Americas based in Berkeley, California. He has written extensively on globalization, Latin America, and other international issues. His most recent book is Globalization and Postmodern Politics: From Zapatistas to High Tech Robber Barons. With Kevin Danaher he coedited Globalize This! The Battle Against the World Trade Organizations.