An eye-opening look at the history of national security fear-mongering in America and how it distracts citizens from the issues that really matter
What most frightens the average American? Terrorism. North Korea. Iran. But what if none of these are probable or consequential threats to America? What if the world today is safer, freer, wealthier, healthier, and better educated than ever before? What if the real dangers to Americans are noncommunicable diseases, gun violence, drug overdoses, and even hospital infections?
In this compelling look at what they call the “Threat‑Industrial Complex,” Michael A. Cohen and Micah Zenko explain why politicians, policy analysts, academics, and journalists are misleading Americans about foreign threats and ignoring more serious national security challenges at home. Cohen and Zenko argue that we should ignore Washington’s threat‑mongering and focus instead on furthering extraordinary global advances in human development and economic and political cooperation. At home, we should focus on that which actually harms us and undermines our quality of life: substandard schools and health care, inadequate infrastructure, gun violence, income inequality, and political paralysis.
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“Good for Cohen and Zenko for laying out the reality that everyone’s afraid to admit: In the battle of ideas and the daily contest of communications, hope and facts have to counter hyperbole and fears. Saying the world is safer than it’s been doesn’t mean we should be satisfied, but it sure as hell means we should be smart about the policy choices that get us where we need to go and avoid the paths that lead us to quagmire and decline. Cohen and Zenko lay out a reality that’s purposefully been overlooked by all the paranoia peddlers invested in a dystopian alternative.”
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John Kerry, former Secretary of State