The following selection of books on the history of the Middle East, Central Asia and the US imperialism's bloody record around the globe provide essential background information for anti-war activists. They are available from most internet bookshops.
Peter Marsden, The Taliban: War, Religion and the New Order in Afghanistan (Zed Books, 1998, US$19.95)
This book begins with a useful history of Afghanistan and the role that Islam and ethnicity have played historically.
Marsden shows that the rise of the Taliban wasn't the result of some blind religious impulse, but was a movement based on specific mujaheddin guerilla factions that won sponsorship from Pakistan and were financed by Saudi Arabia.
Marsden also examines the role of regional politics, showing how the US oil company UNOCAL, Delta Oil of Saudi Arabia and the government of Turkmenistan planned an oil pipeline through Afghanistan in 1997 with the backing of the Taliban.
John Cooley, Unholy Wars: Afghanistan, America and International Terrorism (Pluto Press, 2000, US$19.95)
For most journalists in the US, Washington's role in arming Osama bin Laden is a footnote. In this book, Cooley, an ABC News correspondent based in Athens, details the real story.
The author of several books on the Middle East, Cooley chronicles how, following the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, US presidents Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan stepped up aid to new levels.
The book shows how Osama bin Laden's rise was made possible by Washington.
Chalmers Johnson, Blowback: The Costs and Consequences of American Empire (Owl Books, 2001, US$15)
Johnson's book focuses mainly on the impact of US policy in Asia, but the point he makes is more universal. A term first used by the CIA, "blowback" refers to the unintended repercussions of US imperial arrogance.
Though written before September 11, parts of Johnson's book are prophetic. "The innocent of the 21st century are going to harvest unexpected blowback disasters from the imperialist escapades of recent decades", Johnson wrote.
"Although most Americans may be largely ignorant of what was, and still is, being done in their names, all are likely to pay a steep price ... for their nation's continued efforts to dominate the global scene."
Noam Chomsky, Rogue States: The Rule of Force in World Affairs (South End Press, 2000, US$16)
"Rogue nations must be held accountable" is the refrain used by US politicians to rationalise military interventions around the globe. In this book, Chomsky holds the US and other superpowers to their own professed standards as they commit indefensible actions in the name of democracy and human rights.
Chomsky examines the history of US involvement in the Middle East, Southeast Asia and Central America.
William Blum, Killing Hope: US Military and CIA Interventions Since World War II (Common Courage Press, 2001, US$22.95)
From China in the 1940s to Iraq today, Blum goes through the US government's record of military intervention abroad.
Blum writes in his introduction: "It was in the early days of the fighting in Vietnam that a Vietcong officer said to his American prisoner: 'You were our heroes after the War ... a common phrase in those days was to be as rich and as wise as an American. What happened?'
"An American might have been asked something similar by a Guatemalan, an Indonesian or a Cuban during the 10 years previous, or by a Uruguayan, a Chilean or a Greek in the decade subsequent."
[Abridged from Socialist Worker, newspaper of the US International Socialists. Visit <http://www.socialistworker.org>.]