War has become the norm and "our world has become so oblivious to it," says Tom Engelhardt. “There’s a mindset that goes with American war making, and it’s a very narrow one.”
Tom EngelhardtAmerica is fighting constant small wars, has hundreds of military bases all over the world and has 17 intelligence agencies when most countries have at the most two. “This is not intelligence," explains TomDispatch‘s Tom Engelhardt while discussing his new book, The American Way of War, and elaborating on his recent article, "Washington is Drunk on War." "This is a way of life, and that way of life has been militarized.”
He adds that the American mindset has shifted to war so much so that we have actually detached ourselves from the very idea that "we are making war most of the time.” He asks, "Is anybody thinking about the American education system in 2035 or American infrastructure in 2035?… It’s clear where we’re putting our creative effort, our time and our money." According to Engelhardt, words like "peace" have lost their meaning. Now, “It’s not the opposite of war, it’s just something you say in passing."
—Melanie Breault
Tom EngelhardtTom Engelhardt created and runs Tomdispatch.com, a project of The Nation Institute where he is a Fellow. His next book, A Nation Unmade by War (Dispatch Books), will be published later this month.