September 11, the War on Terror, and Perpetual Warfare

Abstract

The history professor Andrew Bacevich of Boston University is a West Point graduate, a Vietnam War veteran, a self-styled conservative, and a leading critic of over-reach in U.S. foreign policy. He was interviewed in November 2010 by Paul L. Atwood of the University of Massachusetts, Boston. The interview covered the Bush administration's response to the September 11, 2001, attacks and the dynamics of U.S. overseas interventionism, including military-civilian relations. “Civilian control has been deeply compromised,” Bacevich claims, “and the policies that have resulted have been, more often than not, deeply flawed. This is a huge problem, to which most Americans remain blind.”