Perpetual War for Perpetual Peace

The title of this book comes from the historian Charles Beard to characterise the ultimately self-defeating paradox of the current economic and political systems that have taken to an extreme the notion of achieving peace by preparing for war by engendering a state of permanent emergency and anxiety that provides the pretext - eloquently described by Vidal - for shredding the Bill of Rights in the name of national security. The truth is that no ultimate security is achievable through intimidation of others: fear can never lead to trust. The uninitiated reader will be amazed by the extent of Vidal's catalogue of overt and covert operations by the US since 1945 - amounting to over 200. But perhaps the most controversial chapter is devoted to the meaning of Timothy McVeigh, the 'Oklahoma City Bomber' who 'declared war on a government that had declared war on its people' (remember the fallout from Waco?). Vidal recounts his correspondence with McVeigh, where the most arresting document is his two page 'bill of rights' which proclaims the classic rights of free speech, adding that the government should not have a permanent standing army or have any statutory power to alter Constitutional rights, which is just what the 'Patriot Act' is about. One can only cheer that candid voices like Vidal can still be heard above the propaganda noise.