, to see if you have full access to this publication.
Book Titles No access
The Road to War
Presidential Commitments Honored and Betrayed
Authors:
Publisher:
2013
Summary
Not since Pearl Harbor has an American president gone to Congress to request a declaration of war. Nevertheless, since then, one president after another, from Truman to Obama, has ordered American troops into wars all over the world. From Korea to Vietnam, Panama to Grenada, Lebanon to Bosnia, Afghanistan to Iraqwhy have presidents sidestepped declarations of war? Marvin Kalb, former chief diplomatic correspondent for CBS and NBC News, explores this key question in his thirteenth book about the presidency and U.S. foreign policy.
Instead of a declaration of war, presidents have justified their war-making powers by citing "commitments," private and public, made by former presidents. Many of these commitments have been honored, but some betrayed. Surprisingly, given the tight U.S.-Israeli relationship, Israeli leaders feel that at times they have been betrayed by American presidents. Is it time for a negotiated defense treaty between the United States and Israel as a way of substituting for a string of secret presidential commitments?
From Israel to Vietnam, presidential commitments have proven to be tricky and dangerous. For example, one president after another committed the United States to the defense of South Vietnam, often without explanation. Over the years, these commitments mushroomed into national policy, leading to a war costing 58,000 American lives. Few in Congress or the media chose to question the war's provenance or legitimacy, until it was too late. No president saw the need for a declaration of war, considering one to be old-fashioned.
The word of a president can morph into a national commitment. It can become the functional equivalent of a declaration of war. Therefore, whenever a president "commits"the United States to a policy or course of action with, or increasingly without, congressional approval, watch outthe White House may be setting the nation on a road toward war.
The Road to War was a 2013 Foreword Reviews honorable mention in the subject of War & Military.
Search publication
Bibliographic data
Copyright year
2013
ISBN-Print
978-0-8157-2493-3
ISBN-Online
978-0-8157-2443-8
Publisher
Rowman & Littlefield, Lanham
Language
English
Pages
287
Product type
Book Titles
Table of contents
ChapterPages
Table of Contents No access
Acknowledgments No access
Introduction No access Pages 1 - 8
Truman's War in Korea No access Pages 9 - 26
The Hatching of an American "Commitment" No access Pages 27 - 38
Eisenhower: "My God, We Must Not Lose Asia!" No access Pages 39 - 54
Kennedy: The Coup That Failed No access Pages 55 - 76
Johnson: "Let Us Continue" No access Pages 77 - 105
Nixon: "There Is No Way to Win This War" No access Pages 106 - 136
One Way or the Other: Getting Out, Finally No access Pages 137 - 174
"Honorable Exit" or "Decent Interval" No access Pages 175 - 198
The Israel Model: Unprecedented and Unpredictable No access Pages 199 - 224
