Peter Dale Scott's brilliantly researched tour de force illuminates the underlying forces that drive U.S. global policy from Vietnam to Colombia and now to Afghanistan and Iraq. He brings to light the intertwined patterns of drugs, oil politics, and intelligence networks that have been so central to the larger workings of U.S. intervention and escalation in Third World countries through al liances with drug-trafficking proxies. The result has been a staggering increase in global drug traffic. Thus, the author argues, the exercise of power by cover t means, or parapolitics, often metastasizes into deep politics - the interplay of unacknowledged forces that spin out of the control of the original policy ini tiators. Scott contends that we must recognize that U.S. influence is grounded n ot just in military and economic superiority but also in so-called soft power. W e need a soft politics of persuasion and nonviolence, especially as America is e mbroiled in yet another disastrous intervention, this time in Iraq.
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.5 / 5.0
naked truth Delivered as promised. Completely satisfied with the distributor. The book delivers the naked truth about our foreign policy. There are pages of footnotes backing up the content. I would recommend the author finding an editor to create an easier read for the material. But the truth is where and how you find it. Compared to the standard fare of feel good news it is a refreshing wind on a hot day.
The dark side of foreign policy. Peter Dale Scott starts out with some definitions in the book.
Parapolitics-"describes the intentional controlling behavior, mostly executive and bureaucratic."
"Deep politics can refer to any form of sinister, unacknowledged influence." Every chapter is loaded with notes at the end. Scott emphasizes the monumental influence that oil interests have had on American foreign policy actions. This is often hidden from public view. He mentions Nugan Hand bank which was a suspected CIA... more info
Shocking material in a chewy read A hard-to-follow structure and a dry, academic writing style make this powerful and much-needed book less accessible than it should be. Spurred in part by the near-unanimous 5-star acclaim among the Amazon reviewers, I bought this book. I was a bit disappointed. Not because of the content: Scott's authority comes through strongly as a concerned, longtime, and deep observer of the deliberately hidden dimension of U.S. foreign policy operating in Afghanistan, Colombia, and Indochina. Writing since the... more info
Superb study of US state's use of mercenary drug-runners This is an outstanding and revelatory book, a brilliant account of a drug-trafficking empire. He shows how US protection for their drug-runner allies has led to the huge increase in drug trafficking in the last 50 years. The US strategy of opposing national self-determination involves alliances with drug-traffickers like the Sicilian Mafia, the Triads in South-East Asia, the Contras in Nicaragua, the Kosovo Liberation Army in Europe, the death squads in Colombia and the Northern Alliance in... more info
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