The Pentagon's Wars

A gripping insider account of the clash between America's civilian and military leadership

The Pentagon's Wars is a dramatic account of the deep and divisive debates between America's civilian leaders and its military officers. Renowned military expert Mark Perry investigates these internal wars and sheds new light on the US military-the most powerful and influential lobby in Washington. He reveals explosive stories, from the secret history of Clinton's "don't ask, don't tell" policy to how the military plotted to undermine Barack Obama's strategy in Afghanistan, to show how internal strife and deep civilian-military animus shapes America's policy abroad, often to the nation's detriment.

Drawing on three decades of high-profile interviews, both on and off the record, Perry yields sobering judgments on the tenures of our nation's most important military leaders. The Pentagon's Wars is essential reading for anyone seeking to understand the inner workings of the making of America's foreign policy.

“"When it comes to America's senior military leaders, Mark Perry has a gift for exposing the truth. The Pentagon's Wars is a historical narrative of enormous value to Americans trying to understand the disastrous military interventions of the last twenty-five years." -Colonel (ret) Douglas Macgregor, US Army, PhD, author of Margin of Victory”

"A 'tour de force' of insights into the senior-most decision-making surrounding the critical political-military events of the last quarter of a century. Author Mark Perry's perceptive insight and years' worth of professional experience yields a highly accurate description regarding the personality traits and relationships between the Presidents and their respective senior military leaders in the years following the Cold War to present day. Deft prose adds readability to an incredibly complex set of issues making this book difficult to put down until complete. A must read."
--Lt General David A. Deptula, USAF (Ret), Dean, The Mitchell Institute of Aerospace Studies
"A book that does much to explain quirks of foreign policy, providing a military context for them-and one that makes one wonder who's really in charge."
--Kirkus
"In unflinching detail, Mark Perry takes us behind the scenes of America's often tense civil-military relationship. The public and the national security community will want to ponder carefully the implications of this fascinating and engaging narrative."
--Richard H. Kohn, Professor Emeritus of History and Peace, War, and Defense, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; former Chief of Air Force History, USAF
"Once again Mark Perry has produced an extremely well-written and thought-provoking book. War is an extension of politics, and this book is a must-read for anyone interested in the critical and sometimes controversial role that senior generals and admirals have played in American foreign policy since the end of the Cold War."
--David B. Crist, PhD, executive director, Joint History Office, Joint Chiefs of Staff
"This is a hard-hitting insider's walk through the corridors of American power. Mark Perry marshals decades of interviews and applies his keen journalistic insight to grapple with a question that all citizens need to ask: Why can't the most powerful nation in the world achieve its strategic policy aims when it goes to war? He does a great service by explaining in clear, human terms the failures and the limits of American military power. A must read."--David E. Johnson, author of Fast Tanks Heavy Bombers: Innovation in the U.S. Army, 1917-1945
"When it comes to America's senior military leaders, Mark Perry has a gift for exposing the truth. The Pentagon's Wars is a historical narrative of enormous value to Americans trying to understand the disastrous military interventions of the last twenty-five years."
--Colonel (ret) Douglas Macgregor, US Army, PhD, author of Margin of Victory

Mark Perry is a military and foreign affairs analyst whose articles have appeared in the Nation, Foreign Policy, Washington Post, and Politico. Perry lives in Arlington, Virginia.

A gripping insider account of the clash between America's civilian and military leadership The Pentagon's Wars is a dramatic account of the deep and divisive debates between America's civilian leaders and its military officers. Renowned military expert Mark Perry investigates these internal wars and sheds new light on the US military-the most powerful and influential lobby in Washington. He reveals explosive stories, from the secret history of Clinton's "don't ask, don't tell" policy to how the military plotted to undermine Barack Obama's strategy in Afghanistan, to show how internal strife and deep civilian-military animus shapes America's policy abroad, often to the nation's detriment.Drawing on three decades of high-profile interviews, both on and off the record, Perry yields sobering judgments on the tenures of our nation's most important military leaders. The Pentagon's Wars is essential reading for anyone seeking to understand the inner workings of the making of America's foreign policy.

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