The Cost of Chaos

Zusatztext As Bergen! the author of several books on national security! shows! Donald Trump's relationship to the American military is fraught because he has no understanding of the martial virtues and seems to assume that soldiering is simply a matter of violence! even uncaged brutality. The New York Times (Editor's Choice! week of Jan. 9) America is on the brink of war with Iran! largely as a result of President Trump's reckless decision to assassinate Iranian military leader Qassem Soleimani. An excellent way to understand how and why this happened is to read Peter Bergen's new book! Trump and His Generals: The Cost of Chaos (Penguin Press) . . . Now! after the killing of Soleimani! Bergen's book reads like an all-too prescient guidebook of how Trump would take America to war in the Middle East. Rolling Stone Bergen provides a deeply informed study! written with clarity and flair. Reflecting fresh research and nearly 100 interviews with some key players! his retelling of Trump's foreign policy skillfully synthesizes what's already known and adds gossipy tidbits. . . . it is the best single account of Trump's foreign policy to date. The Washington Post Timely . . . insightful . . . Through meticulously documented interviews and research! the author amply shows how the Trump administration has stubbornly stuck with this free-wheeling playbook of slash and burn. Kirkus "A fair and comprehensive overview of Trump's foreign policy. Max Boot! Foreign Affairs Informationen zum Autor Peter Bergen Klappentext From a preeminent national security journalist, an explosive account of Donald Trump's collision with the American national security establishment, and with the world It is a simple fact that no president in American history brought less foreign policy experience to the White House than Donald J. Trump. The real estate developer from Queens promised to bring his brash, zero-sum swagger to bear to cut through America's most complex national security issues, and he did. If the cost of his "America First" agenda was bulldozing the edifice of foreign alliances that had been carefully tended by every president from Truman to Obama, then so be it. Very quickly, it became clear to a number of people at the highest levels of government that their gravest mission was to protect America from Donald Trump. Trump and His Generals is Peter Bergen's riveting account of what happened when the unstoppable force of President Trump met the immovable object of America's national security establishment--the CIA, the State Department, and, above all, the Pentagon. If there is a real "deep state" in DC, it is not the FBI so much as the national security community, with its deep-rooted culture and hierarchy. The men Trump selected for his key national security positions, Jim Mattis, John Kelly, and H. R. McMaster, were products of that culture: Trump wanted generals, and he got them. Three years later, they would be gone, and the guardrails were off. Chapter 1 The War Room The day began well enough. Six months into his young presidency, Donald Trump arrived at the front steps of the Pentagon on a muggy Thursday morning in late July. Alighting from "the Beast," the heavily armored presidential limo, Trump was greeted by his favorite general, Secretary of Defense James "Mad Dog" Mattis. Mattis didn't care for this nickname, but Trump, whose experience of the military was limited to a stint at a military-style boarding school, reveled in the four-star generals on his team, especially the "killers." Trump respected the raw power embodied by the US military. As Trump ascended the front steps of the Pentagon on the morning of July 20, 2017, a reporter shouted, "Mr. President: Are you sending more troops to Afghanistan?" An intense and largely ...

“As Bergen, the author of several books on national security, shows, Donald Trump’s relationship to the American military is fraught because he has no understanding of the martial virtues and seems to assume that soldiering is simply a matter of violence, even uncaged brutality.” —The New York Times (Editor’s Choice, week of Jan. 9)

“America is on the brink of war with Iran, largely as a result of President Trump’s reckless decision to assassinate Iranian military leader Qassem Soleimani. An excellent way to understand how and why this happened is to read Peter Bergen’s new book, Trump and His Generals: The Cost of Chaos (Penguin Press) . . . Now, after the killing of Soleimani, Bergen’s book reads like an all-too prescient guidebook of how Trump would take America to war in the Middle East.” —Rolling Stone
 
“Bergen provides a deeply informed study, written with clarity and flair. Reflecting fresh research and nearly 100 interviews with some key players, his retelling of Trump’s foreign policy skillfully synthesizes what’s already known and adds gossipy tidbits. . . . it is the best single account of Trump’s foreign policy to date.” —The Washington Post
 
“Timely . . . insightful . . . Through meticulously documented interviews and research, the author amply shows how the Trump administration has stubbornly stuck with this free-wheeling playbook of slash and burn.” —Kirkus

"A fair and comprehensive overview of Trump’s foreign policy.” —Max Boot, Foreign Affairs

Auteur

Peter Bergen

Texte du rabat

From a preeminent national security journalist, an explosive account of Donald Trump's collision with the American national security establishment, and with the world

It is a simple fact that no president in American history brought less foreign policy experience to the White House than Donald J. Trump. The real estate developer from Queens promised to bring his brash, zero-sum swagger to bear to cut through America's most complex national security issues, and he did. If the cost of his "America First" agenda was bulldozing the edifice of foreign alliances that had been carefully tended by every president from Truman to Obama, then so be it.

Very quickly, it became clear to a number of people at the highest levels of government that their gravest mission was to protect America from Donald Trump. Trump and His Generals is Peter Bergen's riveting account of what happened when the unstoppable force of President Trump met the immovable object of America's national security establishment--the CIA, the State Department, and, above all, the Pentagon. If there is a real "deep state" in DC, it is not the FBI so much as the national security community, with its deep-rooted culture and hierarchy. The men Trump selected for his key national security positions, Jim Mattis, John Kelly, and H. R. McMaster, were products of that culture: Trump wanted generals, and he got them. Three years later, they would be gone, and the guardrails were off.

Échantillon de lecture

Chapter 1
 
The War Room
 
The day began well enough. Six months into his young presidency, Donald Trump arrived at the front steps of the Pentagon on a muggy Thursday morning in late July. Alighting from "the Beast," the heavily armored presidential limo, Trump was greeted by his favorite general, Secretary of Defense James "Mad Dog" Mattis. Mattis didn't care for this nickname, but Trump, whose experience of the military was limited to a stint at a military-style boarding school, reveled in the four-star generals on his team, especially the "killers." Trump respected the raw power embodied by the US military.
 
As Trump ascended the front steps of the Pentagon on the morning of July 20, 2017, a reporter shouted, "Mr. President: Are you sending more troops to Afghanistan?" An intense and largely hidden battle was then consuming Trump's war cabinet about precisely this question.
At t…