Norman Solomon, War Made Invisible: How America Hides the Human Toll of Its Military Machine. New York: The New Press, 2023.
"What a thing it is to have a country that can't be wrong, but if it is, is right anyway!" --William Dean Howells in his short story "Editha" (quoted by Solomon in 117).
The book is arranged into nine chapters plus an introduction and notes. The notes show the book is very well documented. Chapter topics include humane wars, which are anything except humane, and the real costs of war and who really benefits.
What are some things we learn from this book? The U.S. maintains a constant state of warfare, but it avoids calling it that. If you wonder why the United States can't or rather won't fund things like health care and education, it's because they keep dumping money on warfare. Before you start pointing fingers, both American political parties actively do it. President Obama may have won the Nobel Peace Prize, but he did his active part to keep American warfare alive. So did President Trump, and so does President Biden. As the author writes,
"In Washington, most elected Democrats join with Republicans in striving to paper over the true costs-- individual, social, economic, environmental-- of wars that they keep voting to fund" (161).
We learn that the American press is fully complicit in this process. Major networks and newspapers go along with whatever line the Pentagon and the administration offer. Any reporter daring to question that narrative will find themselves out of a job soon. Promoting patriotism and jingoism brings in ratings, advertising revenue, and good business. Both conservative and liberal networks stay within the lines. The author adds,
"The business of war and the business of news are thoroughly intertwined, and-- no matter what political churn or corporate consolidation occurs-- the essence of a military-industrial-media complex is structured to be resolute in retaining and wielding its power" (76).
We also learn how defense industries and contractors get the most benefit. The United States could create and encourage jobs in more constructive endeavors, but it chooses to keep funding war industries. It helps those industries that they have good lobbyists and plenty of money for political bribes, oops, donations. It also helps that most Americans don't really question this system, and for the most part believe in the nobility of their military. For the record, that military is far from noble and certainly not well intentioned.
The book mainly stays within the late 20th Century and into the 21st Century. Naturally, the role of 9/11 in ramping up the American war machine is prominent, but the United States was already deep in constant warfare well enough before 9/11.The narrative in the book is not fully linear; the author often jumps back and forth in time. Transitions between time periods are not always smooth, so the reading pace is not always easy. Despite that, if the topic interests you then this can be an interesting book. The book may be revealing to those folks who never question the United States and its military machine if they are willing to learn what is really going on.
Overall, this is a necessary book that more people should read, but as often the case in the United States they probably won't read. One thing it does well is answer the question of where the United States and its people choose to put their money, and it's on warfare. The military industrial complex is very much alive, well, and wealthy in the United States. Not an easy read at times, but I really liked it.
I recommend the book for public and academic libraries. Classes in political science may want to consider adding it to their reading lists. It is mostly well written and accessible.
4 out of 5 stars.
Additional reading notes:
What is necessary for perpetual war:
"Patterns of convenient silence and deceptive messaging are as necessary for perpetual war as the Pentagon's bombs and missiles-- patterns so familiar that they are apt to seem normal, even natural" (15).
Book mentioned in this book that may be of interest:
- David Vine, Base Nation: How U.S. Military Bases Abroad Harm America and the World. ISBN: 9781627791694.
If a lot of the book sounds Orwellian, it's because it is. As I read this book I found myself recalling passages from the novel 1984 such as those explaining the need for a constant state of warfare.
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