The Pornography of Power: How Defense Hawks Hijacked 9/11 and Weakened America | 
| Author: Robert Scheer
Publisher: Twelve
Category: Book
List Price: $24.99
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Avg. Customer Rating:  13 reviews
Sales Rank: 6423
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 272
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 5.8 x 1.1
ISBN: 0446505277
Dewey Decimal Number: 973.931
EAN: 9780446505277
ASIN: 0446505277
Publication Date: June 9, 2008
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Product Description
In the course of his forty-year-career as one of America's most admired journalists, Robert Scheer's work has been praised by Gore Vidal, Susan Sontag, and Joan Didion, who deems him "one of the best reporters of our time." Now, Scheer brings a lifetime of wisdom and experience to one of the most overlooked and dangerous issues of our time - the destructive influence of America's military-industrial complex.
Scheer examines the expansion of our military presence throughout the world, our insane nuclear strategy, the immorality of corporations profiting in Iraq, and the arrogance of our foreign policy. Although Scheer is a liberal, his view echoes that of former Republican president General Dwight Eisenhower, who, in his farewell speech to the American people, spoke prophetically about need to guard against the growing influence of the military-industrial complex. In George W. Bush's America, politicians like Ike and Richard Nixon seem like prudent centrists.
The views of libertarians, liberals, and pacifists are often overlooked or ignored by America's mainstream media. The Pornography of Power is the culmination of a respected journalist's efforts to change the terms of debate. At a time when many are exploiting fears of terrorist attacks and only a few national leaders are willing to advocate cuts in defense spending, nuclear disarmament, and restrained use of American force, Robert Scheer has written a manifesto for enlightened reform.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 8 more reviews...
You dropped a bomb on me July 7, 2008
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
THE PORNOGRAPHY OF POWER serves as an update to the World War I-era book WAR IS A RACKET. The former expands on the latter's theme of money, not security, as the reason for both military action and peacetime armed forces spending. (You can read WAR IS A RACKET for free on-line with a web search of the title.)
A sensible response to box cutters and poorly-constructed cockpit doors should cost taxpayers less than billions of dollars for F-22 Raptor fighter planes. Yet as THE PORNOGRAPHY OF POWER details, the Bush Administration and Congress used the September 11, 2001, hijackings as an excuse to place orders for those and many other expensive, unnecessary killing machines beneath the Christmas trees of their weapons manufacturer campaign contributors.
Oh, and don't forget jobs. As if it were a contest to see if people will accept the stupidest rationale for spending tax dollars on overpriced, needless weapons, public officials cite jobs, THE PORNOGRAPHY OF POWER recounts. Imagine the community improvement were the government to use all that money on hospitals, schools or infrastructure instead of superfluous military stuff - while creating as many and probably a lot more paychecks. Perhaps school children should lobby Congress.
Nearly 100 years since World War I, war still proves the greatest racket. Read THE PORNOGRAPHY OF POWER.
 Defense Policy Not Trashed July 4, 2008
1 out of 3 found this review helpful
This book is disappointing for a writer of Robert Scheer's eminence. It is mostly a rehash of newspaper articles. It provides nothing new despite that there is so much new material that could have been used.
Ed Spievack
 Down With The Military-Industrial Complex ! July 4, 2008
In a scathing examination of the bloated defense contracting industry, journalist Scheer exposes how the military-industrial complex manufactures and acquires advanced weaponry that has nothing to do with America's defense needs. Not only does the bloated "defense" budget entail untold waste and opportunity cost -- about 60% of each tax dollar goes for "defense," while more easily funded domestic priorities go unaddressed -- but the acquisition of this unnecessary military hardware, originally intended to defeat a Cold War foe that no longer exists, even drives our military and foreign policy decisionmaking. Scheer shows that this waste often takes the form of "pork" that Congress members are loath to relinquish. Scheer has fittingly dedicated this book to a Republican president, Dwight Eisenhower, whose warnings about the "military-industrial complex" have proven prescient. An excellent, in-depth examination of an important issue that neither party seems to want to tackle.
Hogs Gone Wild July 2, 2008
Give this man a medal. I could not put this book down even though I have read my share of sometimes tepid post 9-11 books. Bob has been bringing us the truth for years and in this book has presented a clear case of the betrayal by those who we have entrusted to lead. His past experience on the political scene has given him a unique ability to weave a unique perspective brimming with clarity.
When Wall Street and K street are the primary architects and beneficiaries of a governmental welfare policy guess who pays for this? Our children and future generations will be paying for this massive rip-off. It is time to close the revolving door of government officials to the military industrial complex and back. Canada has proposed a 5 year freeze on all government top employees to work for private business in the field they were responsible or had policy input for. Some would disagree on such a measure as an infringement of their right to steal from us. Who will be the first candidate to express a truly revolutionary idea such as banning corporate participation and ban all corporate financial input in the electoral process? '' We have met the enemy and he is us'' Walt Kelly never rang truer.
A new and persuasive warning against the "military-industrial complex" June 30, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Robert Scheer's The Pornography of Power: How Defense Hawks Hijacked 9/11 and Weakened America, takes as its thesis President Eisenhower's warning against the "military-industrial complex" on his retirement from the presidency and provides succinct analyses of how, particularly in the eight presidential years of Bush II, Eisenhower's worst fears have been realized. Scheer generously acknowledges that Bush, Cheney and the defense hawks may believe otherwise, but he leaves no doubt that America's war in Iraq, like so much of its foreign relations, is motivated not by the nation's defense, the spread of democracy or resistance to tyranny, but by the desire for power and profit.
Scheer has documented how the close relationship between the defense industry and the Defense Department has resulted in many billions of dollars in contracts to build weapons for which there can be no rationale use in a war against terrorist forces that do not control large armies or navies. He spells out how individuals move from high positions in private weapons corporations to high positions in government that contract to buy those weapons, and then move back to higher positions, and back again to the highest government posts, making ever greater profits for the weapons makers and themselves. The Pornography of Power is a frighteningly persuasive account of their success in creating a wartime environment without end and without real war, but at a terrible cost to America's ability to respond to crises in economic opportunity, health care, education, and infrastructure repair, none of which can be confronted as long as literally trillions of dollars are wasted in a false pursuit of national security.
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