Explores a half-century of U.S. foreign policy from World War II to the Iraq War, revealing how, as Dwight Eisenhower had warned in his 1961 Farewell Address, political and corporate interests have become alarmingly entangled in the business of war. On a deeper level, what emerges is a portrait of a nation in transition--drifting dangerously far from her founding principles toward a more imperial and uncertain future.

An analysis of the turmoil in the Middle East journeys behind the familiar facade of Iraq to argue that troubles in the Arab world can be linked to America's limited understanding of the region, thirst for oil, and need to deal with terrorism.

Offers entries on the ideologies, organizations, events, and prominent people associated with the Persian Gulf, Afghanistan, and Iraq conflicts, along with primary documents, a chronology, a bibliography, and a glossary.

"The United States led military coalitions against Iraq in the 1990-1991 Persian Gulf War and the 2003 overthrow of the Saddam Hussein regime in Iraq. Although these events are among the most studied in recent American military history, the U.S. operations in the Middle East between the two conflicts are much less well known. This monograph fills this gap and recounts how the U.S. Army helped deter Iraqi aggression during this period. It also chronicles...