Reading List

The Invasion of Iraq: 20 Years On

20th_anniversary_of_iraq_war-
September 15, 2007: Protesters march down Pennsylvania Avenue toward the Capitol.

On March 20th, 2003 the invasion of Iraq by coalition forces began. After the invasion, Iraq began fracturing along sectarian lines, unleashing years of violence and displacement. With the outbreak of war in Syria in 2011, ISIS exploited the chaos and societal tensions of the region to sweep to power on a brutal campaign that has displaced millions of civilians. 

These books contextualize the disaster resulting from the "War on Terror" and the refugee crisis rooted in its violence.

Why does America go to war? It is not to bring democracy, or glory, but in the pursuit of profit. Andrew Cockburn, reveals the extent of the rot that stretches from the Pentagon and the White House, to Wall St and Silicon Valley.

Deepa Kumar traces the history of anti-Muslim racism from the early modern era to the “War on Terror.”

How the political violence of modern jihad echoes the crises of western liberalism.

A rigorous and incisive study of combat trauma and American militarism.

NOT AVAILABLE IN NORTH AMERICA

In the post 9/11 era the US military had embraced the agenda of humane war, driven both by the availability of precision weaponry and the need to protect its image. The battle shifted from the streets to the courtroom, where the tactics of the "War on Terror" were litigated but its foundational assumptions went without serious challenge.

Patrick Cockburn writes as a historian of the present to describe the “forever wars” in the Middle East.

Powerful critique of the UK and US surveillance and repression of Muslims and the prosecution of homegrown terrorism.

Calling for a true humanitarianism that sacrifices no-one at the expense of others, Delphy exposes the hypocrisy of many euro-centric calls to save the “Other”.

Charts the devastating roll that the West has played in the Middle East since 2001.

A compelling portrait of a ravaged country, and the appalling consequences of imperial arrogance.

 Patrick Cockburn describes the conflicts behind a dramatic unraveling of US foreign policy. He shows how the West created the conditions for ISIS’s explosive success by stoking the war in Syria.

The bestselling history of the resistance in Iraq that vitalized the antiwar movement.

The extradition of terror suspects reveals the worst features of the security state.

Max Blumenthal excavates the real story behind America’s dealings with the world and shows how the extremist forces that now threaten peace across the globe are the inevitable flowering of America’s imperial designs.

A seething report on the explosive state of affairs in Britain after Blair's alliance with Bush.

Tariq Ali dissects both Islamic and Western fundamentalism.

Writers and activists consider the global consequences of the War on Terror.