Between War and Peace: Lessons from Afghanistan to Iraq

<p>In his acclaimed collection <b>An Autumn of War</b>, the scholar and military historian Victor Davis Hanson expressed powerful and provocative views of September 11 and the ensuing war in Afghanistan. Now, in these challenging new essays, he examines the world&#8217;s ongoing war on terrorism, from America to Iraq, from Europe to Israel, and beyond.<br><br> In direct language, Hanson portrays an America making progress against Islamic fundamentalism but hampered by the self-hatred of elite academics at home and the cynical self-interest of allies abroad. He sees a new and urgent struggle of evil against good, one that can fail only if &#8220;we convince ourselves that our enemies fight because of something we, rather than they, did.&#8221;<br><br> Whether it&#8217;s a clear-cut defense of Israel as a secular democracy, a denunciation of how the U.N. undermines the U.S., a plea to drastically alter our alliance with Saudi Arabia, or a perception that postwar Iraq is reaching a dangerous tipping point, Hanson&#8217;s arguments have the shock of candor and the fire of conviction.</p> <h3>The New York Times</h3> <p>The recurring theme is the moral necessity of taking war to such seats of evil as the ''fascists'' in Baghdad and the ''Stalinists'' in Pyongyang. But just as often, Hanson's enemies are far closer to home, whether in the form of postmodern amoralists, multicultural zealots or, worst of all, ''people sipping latte in La Jolla.'' &#151; <i>Hugh Eakin</i></p>