Summary Of The Limits Of Power By Andrew Bacevich

The book, The Limits of Power by Andrew Bacevich, is organized into an introduction, three chapters, and a conclusion. The three chapters are titled The Crisis of Profligacy, The Political Crisis, and The Military Crisis, respectfully. These chapters are also broken up into subsections. Following these parts are the afterword, notes, acknowledgments, and index. The notes include the resources which cite books, news articles, journals, and general quotes from political scientists/theorists. It does not feature appendices, figures, or photos. The book seems to be aimed at the American population as a whole, more so those with at least some college education, due to the inclusion of an intelligent vocabulary. The tone remains formal, but easy-going, and slightly sarcastic throughout the book. The Limits of Power is written as a critique of the American government system and American exceptionalism. It focuses heavily on the Bush, Jr. Administration, but it touches on the Carter, Reagan, Bush, Sr., and Clinton administrations in the …show more content…
This type of foreign policy would assign soldiers “missions that are consistent with their capabilities.” Bacevich believes that this would benefit American citizens, and he reinforces this idea with worthy evidence. He starts by explaining how the American government ended the Cold War by supporting an Islamic extremist group. These extremists would later perform a terrorist attack on American soil on September 11, 2001, and it would lead to a years-long war in the Middle East that American soldiers are not capable of ending. The president at the time, George W. Bush, had to strike back somehow, but he did so with the idea that we could spread American ideals in the Middle East, and this plan has proven impossible. This example alone is excellent evidence of the final