The Spoils of War: Power, Profit and the American War Machine

by Andrew Cockburn

Why does America go to war?

In the last decades, America has gone to war as supposed defenders of democracy. The War on Terror was waged to protect the west from the dangers of Islamists. US Solders are stationed in more than 800 locations across the world to act as the righteous arbiters of the rule of law. In The Spiols of War Andrew Cockburn brilliantly dissects the intentions behind Washington’s martial appetites.

The American war machine can only be understood in terms of the “private passions” and “interests” of those who control it—principally a passionate interest in money. Thus, as he witheringly reports, Washington expanded NATO to satisfy an arms manufacturer’s urgent financial requirements; the US Navy’s Pacific fleet deployments were for years dictated by a corrupt contractor who bribed high-ranking officers with cash and prostitutes; senior marine commanders agreed to a troop surge in Afghanistan in 2017 “because it will do us good at budget time.”

Based on years of wide-ranging research, Cockburn lays bare the ugly reality of the largest military machine in history: squalid, and at the same time terrifyingly dangerous.

Genres: Politics, History, Nonfiction, War, Economics, American, The United States Of America

288 pages, Hardcover

First published September 21, 2021

About the author

Andrew Cockburn is the Washington Editor of Harper's magazine and the author of many articles and books on national security, including the New York Times Editor's Choice Rumsfeld and The Threat, which destroyed the myth of Soviet military superiority underpinning the Cold War. He is a regular opinion contributor to the Los Angeles Times and has written for, among others, the New York Times, National Geographic and the London Review of Books.

Reviews

[lindsi · Rating 3 out of 5]

The content was fine but when I purchased the book I didn’t realize it was a solely a reprint of Cockburn’s previously published articles. If these had been accompanied by more detailed analyses, clearer through lines, or maybe even just edited and ordered better, it would have made a lot more sense as a cohesive book; but as is, many sections, including the entire last quarter of the book, felt very out-of-place and not connected to the overall thesis.

[Steffi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another highly recommended and timely read.

Just a week or so ago I came across the rather 'puzzling' news headline that global weapons sales increased in 2020 despite the pandemic and global economic downturn. The top 100 weapons manufacturers were able to increase sales by 1.3 percent to more than USD 530 billion, more than half of this went to US arms producers. At the same time, the US has just approved its largest ever military budget since WW2 bringing NATO's collective defense spending to north of a trillion. For what exactly, I wonder.

Andrew Cockburn 'The Spoils of War
Power, Profit and the American War Machine' (VERSO, 2021) is a brilliant (but also depressing) deep dive on the largest military machine in history and the corporate/political forces that underly the constant expansion of the machinery - in the absence of any democratic demand and in the case of the US within a context where even centrists claim that universal healthcare is not affordable. Ugh.

Anyhow, few take-aways:

#1 - The book by Harper's magazine editor Andrew Cockburn is a collection of previously published essays on the financial end of the US's military industry complex, including the intricate network of corporate lobbyists, think tanks, experts, advisors, opinion leaders, and politicians who ensure that whatever happens (e.g., global pandemic) the interests of the military industrial complex remain protected. This is not to imply some kind of conspiracy but, rather, Cockburn describes the military industrial complex as a sort of living organism that is fairly protected from political change or public opinion. The level and scale of corruption and inefficiency of this 'beast' surprised me though.

#2 - In this sense 'Afghanistan' (and the war on terror as such) was a success: a trillion USD spent on the war plus a 100 plus a billion spent on reconstruction with nothing to show for. But what exactly does it matter for the military industrial complex that the largest military in the world with the most advanced technology can't defeat a bunch of Taliban who don't even have a single helicopter lol. The answer to 20 years of 'failed war on terror' is to double down on military expenditure and to invest in ever or more sophisticated supersonic space whatever technology. Now, apparently, the major threats to 'our democracy' and the 'rules based international order' are Russia (whose defense spending is about 5 per cent of NATO's) and China (nuclear submarines, anyone?) and I guess we've found a new/old enemy for the coming two decades. THAT was apparently the non-lesson from Afghanistan.

#3 - So apart from some of the mind blowing levels of corruption and waste by and for the military industrial complex, are the essays on post-Soviet NATO expansion. In this context there were also some interesting insights on the link or convergence of interests (or 'end of history' ideology) between the rather brutal integration of post-Soviet economies into the neoliberal world order (shock therapy etc) and NATO expansion/ opening up of new markets (with outdated military equipment) for western arms, including the role of the IMF in this regard.

#4 - Within the post-Soviet chapters, I found the ones on Ukraine particularly eye opening and how the West is now supporting the 'good oligarchs' (like the 'moderate rebels') against the Russian aggressor. Time permitting, I am going to dig a little deeper into this Ukraine shit show - all this reads more mafia than defending democracy against Russian annexation plans (not defending Russia here - the joke is precisely that all real and aspiring superpowers pursue essentially the same interests, some in the name of democracy and human rights, others in the name of security, self-defense and sovereignty or a combination). I guess it's only China that is fairly upfront about it's imperialist intentions lol. I mean 'lol'.

#5 - Despair 😩

[margaret · Rating 5 out of 5]

Extremely informative for me! Although maybe nothing new if you're familiar with Cockburn's reporting, or, I'm told, whatever it was Eisenhower had to say about the military industrial complex. As a tl;dr, our economy is overly dependent on military industry, motivating a) the United States stay in wars to juice spending b) politicians voting for egregious military spending bills because they don't want the job-providing factories/bases to shut down c) a revolving door of Pentagon officials and Lockheed/Boeing etc war profiteering away like the dickens.

Then there's a bit about the ongoing use of credit default swaps (i.e. the thing that got us into so much trouble in the financial crash of 2008) and a plot to defraud Malaysia.

My only critique is that it would have been helpful if, when Cockburn was making this into a book (it's a collection of Harper's essays) he had taken the time to fill out some of the essays with a tad more context and interviews.
As an e.g. - he talks about a American facility that continues to produce plutonium pits, even though we already have enough to wage nuclear war for the next century, as a result of an Obama order. It would have been really interesting to hear what the people doing this thought about that. Do they think it's necessary for some reason? Do they worry their jobs would be lost if we didn't overproduce?

[Sebastian Gebski · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lot of data, a lot of hard facts.
But the book doesn't deliver what the title promises.

Yes, there's a lot covered when it comes to companies behind weapons production & their lobbying. But there's very little on how the US govt exploits countries it "brings freedom to": offset deals, long-term exclusive contracts, resource extraction, introducing constraints and dependencies - practically removing control from local authorities. The book doesn't cover any of those; it's focused on the private sector - something surprisingly leaning towards topics very loosely related to the war machine: like banks.

I'm not saying it's not interesting - but I find this "censorship" annoying and with an impact on the overall credibility of the book. 3.2 stars

P.S. Btw. the story about involvement in Yemen was simply stunning :(

[John Mihelic · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading these essays did remind me of having read them before, since a couple of them I know I already read in Harpers. But it’s worth it because what Cockburn does show just so many ways that the foreign policy priorities of the last 20 years goes against what should be our national priorities. Mainly it’s an appalling list of how many ways we direct our resources to stupid priorities and how these resources are poorly spent even with those priorities. Not only do we spend on the wrong things, but we also don’t even do it well. Well written and will make you justly angry.

[Fraser Simons · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a pretty well selected compilations of essays. The first section on specifically the American Military Industrial Complex was the most illuminating for me. But if people aren’t aware of the the MIC extracting funds with thinly veiled subterfuge and it’s direct involvement in the Middle East, this would be even more valuable. It’s quite comprehensive. Though the last section not having to do with the theme of the book really was a bit strange. It does go toward corruption and fraud in similar ways to the MIC? But is otherwise unrelated, talking about banks, primarily.

[Lawrence Roth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I listened to the Audible audiobook version.

Andrew Cockburn has highly impressed me once again with his ability to completely and utterly shatter any and all confidence in the capability of the American military-industrial complex to properly keep Americans safe and/or wealthy. I read one of Cockburn's previous books called Kill Chain years ago. That was an incredible volume that showed me the flaws beneath the glistening and gleaming surfaces of the steel, aluminum, carbon fiber, and paint that dazzle most people when they look at America's armored, naval, and air platforms. The badass machinery that our service members use are sometimes boondoggles that lead to a waste billions (in the case of the F-35, over a trillion depending on what you'd deem waste) in taxpayer dollars and even contribute to the deaths of said service members like the V-22 Osprey and MRAP anti-mine armored vehicle. I recall drone warfare being a large part of that book as well, along with all the controversy surrounding their effectiveness.

In Spoils of War, published on September 21, 2021, Cockburn takes another withering look at the military-intelligence-industrial complex, which has only grown in strength since Kill Chain. Everyone is a target in this book: Bush, Obama, Trump, Biden, the US military, the entire concept of Soviet military parity/supremacy during the Cold War, RAND Corporation, The Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, the mainstream media, Congress, the judiciary system, the entire concept that Putin's Russia is anywhere near militarily capable of threatening Europe at a large scale (seemingly proven somewhat right during the current war in Ukraine), and, to my rather great surprise, Citibank, AIG, Goldman Sachs, and everyone else involved in the 2008 crash and MDB1.

While examining the military-intelligence-industrial complex Cockburn compared the phenomenon to that of a living organism. This organism was, above all, massive, concerned only about its safety and growth. If any event in history threatened the Pentagon's source of funds, a convenient story of a resurgent enemy would come along to justify hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars spent on military R&D that goes nowhere to fight phantom capabilities that, in Cockburn's eyes, American adversaries simply do not and cannot possess. His prime example was that of Russia's hypersonic missile, used to justify a huge increase in research on hypersonic technology for defense and attack. I even recall reading about Russia's hypersonics and being concerned myself. Yet Cockburn provided me with a curiosity that never seemed to break through my initial gut reaction: how the hell did Russia (a corrupt oil state whose military is large but not very well trained and with nowhere near the labor pool and concentrated industry of China nor the military budget of the US) supposedly build a ballistic missile with capabilities so advanced that most aerospace scientists doubt it was actually possible at the time?

I credit Cockburn to opening my eyes to this and other weird machinations within the complex like why the military kept wanting to retire the A-10 Warthog despite its incredible reputation and proven combat effectiveness or how (as I've read in many other volumes) Afghanistan was so incredibly mismanaged.

I was then taken aback (pleasantly) when Cockburn's final chapter took a sharp turn away from the military and intelligence services and the think tanks and defense contractors that support them, and dove straight into the heart of high finance. I confess I had no idea why he was recounting the details Citibank's greedy and frankly irrational gambling as the housing bubble popped. I do admit it was fun to take a nice ride back through a story that I read in much more detail in Andrew Ross Sorkin's Too Big to Fail.

And then the final section in the chapter made everything make sense. Cockburn wanted to address MDB1, a scandal I recall had broken years ago, but I was not watching high finance crimes at the time so I paid little attention. It is described as possibly the largest financial scandal in human history. And nobody really cares or remembers it. With such deep tendrils extending out to the rich and powerful throughout the world, including some involved with the Trump administration at the time the scandal broke, I suppose Cockburn wanted to turn attention to the "Profit" part of the subtitle of this book, as he doesn't necessarily tie in this chapter to the rest of his analysis of the military-intelligence-industrial complex.

A very high recommend from me. I am glad there are investigators like Andrew Cockburn that genuinely pull no punches when examining their VERY entrenched subjects. The military-intelligence-industrial complex seems to be more solid of an institution these days than the Supreme Court, Congress, the Presidency, the entire criminal justice system, the entire finance system, or the entire field of journalism. Cockburn is here to show just how that has come to be.

[Brent Bauman · Rating 5 out of 5]

These essays are pretty scathing and I think it’s a great thing they were all compiled to be read sequentially. The first part of the book, maybe even the first half is pretty much all about the MIC and basically how absolutely corrupt it has become. It really hard to find any excuse for the evidence raised throughout other than to draw an obvious conclusion that the whole thing has turned in to a murderous grift on the US and the world.

While I was slightly stunned by the first half the second half really took a turn from one of grift and shock to one of absolute depravity. It shouldn’t surprise me that some of the most awful people alive found themselves all in positions of unchallenged authority and the policies enacted turned out to be some of the most awful, depraved and pure evil policies they could have to basically personally benefit themselves. I found myself nearly drawn to tears when the long term effects of sanctions was wrought most terribly upon 500,000 dead or soon to be dead Iraqi children. The stuff about Yemen equally as terrible.

The final part is about the banking and just how absolutely corrupt it has become and how terribly it has infected the government to the point that virtually any behavior, no matter how destructive, is not only excused but virtually promoted. In the end the profits will always exceed the penalties, the government is powerless to intercede and banking personnel, appointed to positions of the treasury, are free to simply ignore even the president. Some of the worst people, engaged in the most outright predator like behavior, essentially found themselves controlling the entirety of the banking industry and have virtually behaved unchecked since. Predictably melting down the world economy, never facing punishment and becoming fabulously wealthy in the mean time.

I may have a more dire outlook after reading this book than even the author intended but by the time I finished I felt it had become clear that the entirety of the US Gov has become inseparably infected from two greed-fueled industries (MIC & banking) to the point there is virtually no way to stop either from operating with absolute impunity. It’s more or less a shell game at this point until their greed completely implodes the entirety of the US/World economy and the Us tax payer themselves will be forced to live in the conditions we’ve ironically imposed on foreign nations who oppose the greed-fueled industries in the first place.

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Collection of essays generally about high-level corruption, & the lie of private sector efficiency. Cockburn clearly comes from a military perspective of some sort (historian? Reporter?). The main thrust of most of the book is that U.S. foreign policy (especially alliances) & military policy (including deployments & procurement) are mostly determined by the defense industry & the Pentagon searching for dollars.
Some other ideas include “The Military Industrial Virus” chapter suggesting that a bloated defense sector will devour the rest of the economy, not only through hogging resources that could be better used elsewhere, but also through generating a failing-upwards management culture. Cockburn argues that the latter dynamic playing out in the Soviet Union is what really damaged the Soviet/Russian economy, more than pure defense spending.
Part 2 (“the New Cold War”) feels very suddenly dated as of a week & a half ago, but is still relevant as background to the current conflict in Ukraine, especially regarding key players in Ukraine, & the long build-up of tensions between NATO & Russia. I felt that Eastern European worries about their Russian neighbor as a driver for NATO expansion & how that was or was not used by hawkish elements in the U.S. & Western Europe could have been discussed further.
The chapter about the war in Yemen “Acceptable Losses” reminded me of an inverted version of “The Mayors” in Asimov’s Foundation, where the Foundation’s client kingdoms’ military hardware is maintained by the Foundation’s technician-priests, thereby assuring the Foundation’s control. The relationship between the U.S. & Saudi Arabia’s military is reminiscent of this, with U.S. contractors & technicians being the sole means for keeping the Saudi Air Force’s planes running, except in reality the Saudis are dictating the U.S.’s policy because of their status as customer (who is always right) to the U.S. defense industry. It would be as if the Foundation had allowed the Anacreonians to bombard Terminus, but then billed them afterwards. It’s easy to see how that dynamic led to the Afghan client government’s rapid collapse when the U.S. removed its support.
Finally, the chapter about sanctions “A Very Perfect Instrument” also very relevant right now, when sanctions on Russia are so much in the news.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

"This entire process, whereby spending growth slows and is then seemingly automatically regenerated, raises an intriguing possibility: that our military-industrial complex has become, in Spinney’s words, a “living organic system” with a built-in self-defense reflex that reacts forcefully whenever a threat to its food supply—our money—­hits a particular trigger point. The implications are profound, suggesting that the MIC is embedded in our society to such a degree that it cannot be dislodged, and also that it could be said to be concerned, exclusively, with self-preservation and expansion, like a giant, malignant virus. This, of course, is contrary to the notion that our armed forces exist to protect us against foreign enemies and impose our will around the globe—and that corruption, mismanagement, and costly foreign wars are anomalies that can be corrected with suitable reforms and changes in policy. But if we understand that the MIC exists purely to sustain itself and grow, it becomes easier to make sense of the corruption, mismanagement, and war, and understand why, despite warnings over allegedly looming threats, we remain in reality so poorly defended."

3 stars. The Spoils of War is a collection of Cockburn's previously published essays about weapon manufacturing and the Military Industrial Complex. While these essays provide an educated opinion on the matter of weapons trading, the book is a bit hard to follow. I feel that the essays could have been streamlined together in a more accessible way for the reader. Further, I felt that the last part of the book didn't really go with the theme of the rest of the essays.

Overall, I would say this book is informative, but you may have better luck just reading individual articles.

[Garrett Jansen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'd recommend this for anyone trying to get a big picture of the way weapons manufacturing and finance shapes our country's war machine, something that should be scandalous to any American. The only knock on this book is the last couple chapters relating to the 2008 finance crisis, which seems disjointed from the rest of the book. The cut from military funding to speculative banking just feels a bit breakneck and not in line with the overall narrative.

[Bob · Rating 5 out of 5]

this latest collection uncovered aspects of ongoing government practices and policies from the Obama years onward. The most cringe worthy chapters for me are those describing the policies behind Sanctions placed on other countries and especially the chapters describing the consumer loan shark rackets in this country, since I have friends and relatives whose lives have been affected by these scams.
And then there’s this gem, “ the US government is the official vendor for weapons sales on behalf of corporations such as Boeing and Textron, levying a surcharge of 7 percent for the service. “Seven percent of [$60 billion] is a significant amount of money,” he observed. “That basically covers US government operating expenses to run things like training for the Bolivian armed forces in counternarcotics, and stuff like that. Up until very, very recently, the Saudis pretty much subsidized everything. People do not realize how much benefit we get from our interaction with them.”

[Shelby · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 [audiobook]

[Stephen]

a really good collection of articles about the tremendous evil that is the American military industrial complex. the final section wildly diverges into a few chapters about the mechanisms of the 2008 financial crisis and various criminal activities that American banks were involved in subsequently, which, while interesting, ultimately have minimal impact on the overall thesis of the collection.

[Ryan Lurk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly recommend this book for anyone who wants a more quantifiable account of defense corruption in the modern era. We know the issues outlined in the book, but Cockburn lists out specific examples in grueling detail, while maintaining digestibility.

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a collection of articles written over the past few years illustrating the author's conviction that the American military's goal is, mostly, to feather its own nest with vast expenditure on weapons and technology with very little if any thought about what is best for America's military needs and a great deal of thought about how much taxpayer's money can be extracted from the government for itself and its military contractor friends (and former colleagues).

Cockburn is a good writer and has a thorough knowledge of the subject but the book, being a collection of articles, fails to articulate an overarching thesis and in the last three chapters veers into other areas such as the financial crisis which have nothing to do with the topic. The book also suffers from that common fault of books from the left-liberal viewpoint in that it gives absolutely no time to any counter-argument, neither explaining what an opponent might say, let alone countering it, and descends at times into almost hysterical argument.

At it's best, this book is thorough, shocking and gripping. At it's worst it's either completely off the point or propagandistic.

[Jerry Peace · Rating 5 out of 5]

We all know that the Pentagon is a cesspool of corruption. But it's a whole lot more than procurement people taking bribes and kickbacks. You've got generals who lied for twenty years about the '"efficacy" of our tragic Afghanistan misadventure, who dragged out our occupation to keep defense contractors happy and ensuring themselves plum board of director "jobs" with those same defense contractors upon retirement. You've got Congress who blindly and blithely gives the Defense Department whatever they want, with nary a question concerning need, concerning obvious lemons that cost billions and always have massive cost overruns, the same Congress where a few imbeciles actually believe the nonsense the Pentagon spews and so many more, not as stupid as their fellow yahoos but make up for with pockets filled with contractors cash. And you have administrations who, instead of requiring any accountability, give carte blanche to the Pentagon while also eyeing lucrative payoff jobs. And frankly, it really appears Saudi Arabia has us in their back pockets. Big, big payoffs all around.

[Caleb Pykkonen · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the most interesting ideas that Cockburn discusses in The Spoils of War is that the US military is not driven primarily by the motive of creating the most productive fighting force, but is instead driven primarily by the need to use the production of arms and military technology as a way to make profit for elite capital (i.e., the American Deep state). On the surface, this is a simple logical statement that makes sense, given what we know about how the capitalist political economy works in general and in every other industry. However, it is interesting to consider the particular role of the military in the global capitalist political economy – particularly the role of the military of the global hegemonic power, the United States. The military provides the force that underlies and protects the coercive power of the capitalist economy in any capitalist state, and in the modern globalized political economy the United States��� military provides this force for the majority of the world.

However, Cockburn sheds light on an internal contradiction facing the United States’ military. The military obviously needs to be as effective as possible to exert the needed force to subdue “enemies” (i.e., states outside America’s sphere of influence who refuse to kowtow to the American’ elite capitalist). This would mean using the best possible technology, which would be able to achieve the direct military objectives of the troops on the ground – minimizing US casualties and maximizing US enemy casualties. However, as Cockburn shows, in modern US conflicts dating at least as far back as the Korean War, the US military has not used the best available technology to achieve the aforementioned goals. Instead, the military has used technology which juices the profits of private contractors like Boeing, and is at times almost entirely ineffective on the battlefield. Some examples include the F-35, B-42, and B-1 planes, all of which provide more profit for the producers than usefulness on the field (https://spoilsofwar.substack.com/p/th..., https://theintercept.com/2021/10/27/p...).

Some possible explanations for this problem come to mind. Perhaps the fact that the United States has not fought a defensive war since the War of 1812 (unless one considers World War II a defensive war, even though United States soil was only touched once, when Pearl Harbor was attacked). Thus, since the United States military is not under the pressure of protecting its own soil, it does not face the same pressure to use its material resources to the maximum possible efficiency. Furthermore, as long as the United States military is inflicting damage to its “enemies,” it is achieving a different mission (perhaps its fundamental mission), which is engaging its “enemies” in conflicts to ensure that a) the need for military supplies continues, and b) it is sufficiently demonstrating its ability to damage enemy forces such that these “enemies” will be forced to participate in the US-controlled global capitalist economy (in other words, the fact that the US military simply exists and is active serves as a force of deterrence, similar to the way that the US’ nuclear arsenal acts as a force of deterrence). The United States can achieve these goals without having an efficient military. A secondary explanation is that, as a nuclear power, the United States has a trump card which allows it to deter offensive campaigns waged by its enemies on US soil, thereby decreasing the need for the United States to have an efficient ground, air, or naval force.

The internal contradiction which faces the US military (to put it explicitly: the need to have the most effective and efficient fighting force as possible, but the simultaneous need to maximize profits for the American Deep State) has not yet been successfully exploited by a true enemy of the United States, such that the sovereignty of American elite capital has been challenged. In other words, aside from the isolated attacks on December 7, 1941 and September 11, 2001, no foreign power has attempted to attack United States soil in a sustained campaign. To date, this can largely be explained by the fact that the United States is a nuclear power, and still maintains the most productive fighting force in the world. However, as time goes on the internal contradiction will continue to “rot” the US military from the inside. The US military will use materiel that is progressively getting worse at achieving its ostensible fighting function, and is more and more driven by the goal of achieving the largest profits for the Deep State. This is because, just like in the United States political economy as a whole, the profit motive will win out over any other motive.

The rot of the US military can be observed by the fact that almost all of its offensive military campaigns have resulted in military failure since World War II (of course, the campaigns have achieved the fundamental goal of the US military stated above – ensuring the smooth functioning of the US-run global capitalist economy and juicing profits for the American Deep State). The United States military only managed to conquer half of the Korean peninsula during its invasion of that territory. The United States military’s failure to even identify military goals, let alone achieve military goals, in Vietnam is well known. The United States’ military failures in the Middle East since the 9/11 attacks is becoming clearer with each passing year. And the failure of the IDF in Israel (a client state of the United States, which relies almost entirely materiel produced by the United States economy) to identify coherent military goals and achieve those goals in the invasion of Gaza which began in October, 2023, indicates that the rot of the US military has also extended to its strongest ally in the Middle East.

[Dale · Rating 2 out of 5]

industry

Not really sure what the point of this book is as it is a collection of stories about American defense missteps. No revelations, just a well researched book with uninformed conclusions.

[Barbara Clarke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Warning - all of the ways the government, even Saint Obama, has lied to the American people and the harm that we do to other people's homes, children, livelihoods, future, food sources, and all else is in this book. Cockburn is methodical, well resourced, and a long-time teller of what is true and what is not. The essay on Yemen is particularly distressing and the role of sanctions that the US applies to anyone, any time they don't obey our rules is all there to read. Too late to write about the hell the people in Afghanistan are going through but rinse, repeat sanctions, ceasing assets....

My question is this - where is Congress, journalists (MSM - not the brave reporters who are blocked on Twitter or PayPal or FB) and again - Congress on some of the lawless, murderous activities done in the name of the American people. Many of them are totally illegal, all about holding power, and getting reelected. And both parties wonder why so many citizens don't vote!

This is a hard book to read - had to take it in brief sessions - but glad I read all of it. Now what? What can the people in this country do? Our tax dollars are used for everything Cockburn describes. Meanwhile, we can't fund health, childhood essentials, food, shelter, jobs, aging, and public health because we have to "fight them (whomever - there's always someone) over there so we don't have to fight them over here."

Cockburn's Chapter 11 - on 9/11, the undisclosed (but known) role of the Saudis, and the 9/11 families is an example of the shameful role of all concerned who don't want to breakup with our "partner." The idea that Obama went there after shutting down any new info and gushed over his medal "Goodness, gracious" (not goodness at all) says as much about him as a human being to say nothing about being the president. That and in his memoir "and...I had to kill some of those Afghan boys."

[David Odum · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a series of long-form articles written by the author, with updates provided at the end of each to cover events since the original article was published. Knowing this going in, I wasn't overly optimistic about the overall quality of the material. I hoped it would at least offer a peek into the subject so I could ascertain whether it was worth further reading.

I'd say this was more than a peek. It offered several investigative deep-dives on topics ranging from the U.S.-Saudi relationship, endemic financial mishandling and waste in the U.S. military, and the corruption ranging across political parties and presidents. A warning: if you are looking for hope, this book is low on that. The problems are so entrenched and bureaucratized that one is left feeling helpless. A strong and confident president might be able to take on the military problems, but that president was apparently not Trump, Obama, Bush, Clinton, or Bush.

Here's one takeaway example:

Bar none, the best close air support aircraft (read: a plane that supports men in combat on the ground) is the A-10 Thunderbolt (the 'hog). The air force has never liked even the concept of a plane designed around close air support because it means they are playing a secondary role. More to the point, the heavily armored A-10 is incredibly cheap compared to the more modern fighter/bombers such as the F-22 and the F-35. This means that if the air force were able to disband it, as they have tried to do more than once, its replacements would gain the USAF a bigger slice of the military spending budget. Thus, a bigger budget is prioritized over keeping our troops alive.

[Robert Morris · Rating 3 out of 5]

For me this book was preaching to the choir, and the sermon was too short. I'm pretty sure I agree with Andrew Cockburn on most issues related to the military industrial complex. This collection of essays is tremendously useful at some points. His documentation of Lockheed Martin's lobbying for NATO expansion is particularly helpful, and something I will no doubt refer to in future work. I also wasn't aware that Obama was forced into an outrageous trillion dollar nuclear modernization plan in return for a minor disarmament agreement with Russia, that is well on its way to being terminated.

But all those important details, and Cockburn's savvy recounting of them, made me wish this was a longer, more unified book. It's a collection of news articles, but unlike his brother's recent, similar book of clippings, there isn't enough current, unified material to justify the collection. Maybe 6 of the 18 pieces in the book deal directly with the question of the military industrial complex, and they're all useful. But the book is padded with a lot of fluff, some of it going back over a decade.

Yes, the war on terror was bad, and we murdered a lot of people, but that's not new information. Yes, US financial chicanery is outrageous, but I didn't understand why long articles on the evisceration of the post 2008 financial crisis and Goldman Sachs belonged in this collection. The world really could have used an Andrew Cockburn book on the evils of the US military industrial complex. This book contains a few essays that do that, but the book as a whole is a bit of a disappointment.

[Colin Stensrud · Rating 4 out of 5]

Whether you consider yourself an anti-imperialist, a small government libertarian, a patriotic nationalist, or anything in between and beyond those ideological descriptors, this is a book you should take the time to read.

The corruption, careerism, and homicidal mania endemic to American political, military, and financial systems is laid bare in plain terms here, and it's a real shame that these topics don't get covered in such a way in corporate media. The victims of the American empire, whether in Yemen, Afghanistan, or right here at home, deserve so much more.

Also, be aware that this book is a selection of updated articles Cockburn has previously published, placed in four general categories: military hardware and tactics, the New Cold War, the War on Terror, and financial crimes.

[Avery Zimmerman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall I liked it and found it to be thoroughly interesting and educational. Though it should be mentioned that this does not read like a book, but a collection of articles the author has published throughout his career. Due to that, some things were brought up and not adequately explained only to be brought up and explained in detail in later chapters. The last section "Simple Billion-Dollar Money-Grubbing," though interesting, had nothing to do with the main theme of the American war machine. Though the author frequently cited his sources by name, I would prefer if he had included a works cited at the end with more frequent in text citations for assertions made.

[Phil · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderfully written review of the system of American " defence" spending and its absolute integration into the world economy through finance and power. Particularly notable is the absolute command of small details, and larger trends, controlling the presentation of their scales and importance perfectly.

I presume from all the references just previous books that it may be a somewhat redundant read, but as someone who has not read anything by Cockburn before I am very impressed, somewhat more informed, and strongly depressed by this excellent book.

[Chet Slonina · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great read as the United States can never be satisfied without a war. I war is patriotic, a constant money maker, another demand to raise the bar on the best military equipment money can by. As we see the need for the military machine to wax and wane, it will never stop. The book has so much information although the last part seems to be oddly placed. Overall, a worthwhile look at where the military industry has been and will go as the might of the military needs to remain strong for both side in a never ending need to be one step of your foe!!!

[Chris Bedford · Rating 4 out of 5]

A terrifying and blood-boiling series of essays about how US defence strategy is calibrated by the whims of the arms traders, to the detriment of their own military and, of course, those on the receiving end of the munitions. Fascinating insights too into the counter productive and cruel implementation of economic sanctions around the world. This author is brave and pulls no punches—a must-read for anyone interested in how the world works.

[Elliott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent first two thirds, compelling and interesting stories about compelling examples of the military industrial complex, but in a bizzare turn, the back 3rd of the book is all about the financial crash of 2008. It was still good content, but I found myself confused at its placement amid the rest of it

[Sandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

It feels a bit disjointed because the chapters readable in isolation. But it does flow well and has some sort of arc. The information is very digestible but at a high level. His access is impressive. The impression the book leaves is bleak, but for reasons others don't look into. It is shocking what happens in this country.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent collection of essays by Cockburn centered around the military industrial complex and financial "services" industry. There's a bit of repetition as in any essay collection, but there are some pretty shocking insights.