World War IV: The Long Struggle Against Islamofascism

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Type: Book
Studio: Doubleday
Release Date: 2007-09-11

For almost half a century—as a magazine editor and as the author of numerous bestselling books and hundreds of articles—Norman Podhoretz has helped drive the central political and intellectual debates in this country. Now, in this beautifully written and powerfully argued book, he takes on the most controversial issue of our time—the war against the global network of terrorists that attacked us on 9/11.
 
In World War IV, Podhoretz makes the first serious effort to set 9/11 itself, the battles that have followed it in Afghanistan and Iraq, and the war of ideas that it has provoked at home into a broad historical context. Through a brilliant telling of this epic story, Podhoretz shows that the global war against Islamofascism is as vital and necessary as the two world wars and the cold war (“World War III”) by which it was preceded. He also lays out a compelling case in defense of the Bush Doctrine, contending that its new military strategy of preemption and its new political strategy of democratization represent the only viable way to fight and win the special kind of war into which we were suddenly plunged.
 
Different in certain respects though the Islamofascists are from their totalitarian predecessors, this new enemy is equally dedicated to the destruction of the freedoms for which America stands and by which it lives. But it took the blatant aggression of 9/11 to make most Americans realize that war had long since been declared on us and that the time had come to fight back. Past administrations, both Republican and Democratic, had failed to respond with appropriate force to attacks by Muslim terrorists on American citizens in various countries, and even the bombing of the World Trade Center in 1993 was treated as a criminal act rather than an act of war. All this changed after 9/11, when the whole country rallied around President Bush’s decision to bring the war to the enemy’s home ground in the Middle East.
 
The successes and the setbacks that have followed are vividly portrayed by Podhoretz, who goes on to argue that, just as in the two great struggles against totalitarianism in the twentieth century, the key to victory in World War IV will be a willingness to endure occasional reverses without losing sight of what we are fighting against, what we are fighting for, and why we have to win.

The OYPAC veiw
Should one, for whatever reason, care even a smidgen about Israel and its future, this panting, fanatical book will be no help whatsoever. Podhoretz really seems to see the Middle East as a conflict between good and bad (and, believe it or not, in his parallel universe, the murderous followers of Ariel Sharon are "good"). What does one say except "Oy!"? Intelligent Israelis are aware of the sins that have been committed in their name; dimbulb Neo-Cons want to expand and continue their imperialism. Count Norm in their number. A disgusting book, but amazingly revealing.

Almost nothing about the solution for islamofascism
I read thsi reasonable book, here in Brazil.This book has some good parts.Ome example is page 73, where an american called Andrew Young, amabassador of USA in UN, hailed the iranian ayatollah Khomeini as a saint and a true believer in human rights.Oh, having this kind of crook as ambassador, USA didn't needed any enemy.
About the problem, the islamofascism, this boook even being boring and repetitive many times, remains good.About the solution, this book is very weak.Yes, I agree when this book claims that the World War IV, will be a long and terrible war, but the oil and natural gas are the only source of money to islamic world.
Comapring to XV Century, when Europe was buying spices from islamic world and financing the war against Europe, did by islamic world.The political decision to support scientific research in a for discoveries by Columbus and Vasco da Gama, broke the source of money for islamic world.Spices were so expensive as gold in 1490 and nothing more, than cheap products one hundred years later.The political decision for decades between 1430 and 1498 to support navigation, sent the price of spices to being absolute uncapable of support islamic agression against catholic Europe.
In our times, the situation is almost equal.Instead of spices selled at price of gold, islamic world is selling oil.Billions of US dollars goes to islamic world, every day, in selling oil and natural gas.If the USA doesn't buys oil from Iran, Japan and China buys;and at the same price.Without oil and natural gas, arab world exports less than Finnland; a small country in Europe.
This book has nothing about the solution for oil problem.Nothing about ethanol, biogas,etc.To fight against islamofascism without cuting its source of money and power, is useless.When you buy gas or diesel in any gas station in the world, you are supporting Bin Laden, atomic aiatollahs,Al-qaida,hamas, Herzbollah,etc.Without oil's money, islamic world is even, uncapale of feeding itself.
Without money from spices, Othoman empire became easily, the strongest military power of Europe to the "sick man of Europe" in some decades.Without oil's money, islamic world will be vulnarable to its own divisions and civil war.Military power alone can't broke islamic power.Only with the end of massive oil's money, the peace in middle east can be did.And only whith political will to get a substitute to oil-ethanol to example- we could see really peace and an islamic world looking to peace, after its own weakness, became obvious to everyone.

A Superb Defence of the Bush Doctrine
Podhoretz provides a very readable and well documented defence of why taking the fight to global terrorism was the right thing to do. It also sheds light on the self-contradictory sentimentalism of the radical left, which instinctively "awefulizes" any legitimate American effort to curtail the threats of evil regimes against our citizens and others thoughout the world.

Gives you great insight
Since the title of this non-fiction book is World War IV, you have to wonder what happened to World War III and how you missed it.

Well, the author, Norman Podhoretz, past editor of "Commentary Magazine," postulates that World War III began in 1947 and ended in 1989. That period is better known as "the cold war." World War IV became "our moment and our mission" on September 11, 2001 with the terrorist attack on New York City and is still in progress. However, as he points out, earlier terrorist acts led us up to that place and time.

In his book, he has brought together many opinions, excerpts from articles and speeches that address our involvement in current military actions. In the chapter entitled "The Mainstream Media," the author asserts that as progress grows in Iraq, the media coverage and support goes down. In other chapters, he lists three schools of thought-or "devotees of the Vietnam syndrome"-that have a collective interest in our failure in Iraq: the Isolationists, the Liberal Internationalists and the Realists.

Originally written and issued in 2007, World War IV has been reprinted with a 2008 postscript that is very timely. The author has assumed that Obama has gained the Democratic nomination for president and proceeds to discuss the differences between Obama and McCain on their views and strategies dealing with the Iraq war and, what he calls," Islamofascism." He does not address domestic issues but keeps a good focus on Iraq/Islamofascism, some of our foreign policies and relationships with other foreign governments, at the same time putting them into an historical perspective.

World War IV is very readable and not difficult to comprehend. The author provides a good historical background and a broad perspective on many of the foreign policy issues. Whether or not you agree with the author's views and analysis (he states that he is neoconservative), this book is still very informative and useful in gaining more insight into some of the arguments surrounding the war in Iraq and some of our other foreign involvements.

Armchair Interviews says: A very timely read.

Not Podhoretz's best
Relatively short, it is actually the extension of an essay published previously. At heart, it is a heavily polemical defense of the Bush Administration's view of the War on Terror. Not entirely convincing, Mr. Podhoretz is on firmer ground when he talks about the U.S. cultural and political debates than the actual nuts and bolts of foreign policy. In the latter area, it's clear that he's very intelligent and well-read, but nonetheless essentially a precocious amateur. In my opinion, Mr. Podhoretz also demonstrates a better understanding of the ideological and moral opposition to the Bush Administration's policies coming from its left than he does of that coming from its opponents on the right.