US foreign policy in five doctrines

Melvyn P. Leffler's book examines why the United States invaded Iraq, emphasizing fear, power, hubris, and dysfunction in the Bush administration's decision-making after 9/11. Drawing on new documentation, interviews, and memoirs, Leffler portrays Bush's strategy of coercive diplomacy aimed at disarming Saddam Hussein's alleged weapons of mass destruction, which ultimately led to war due to Hussein's defiance and Washington's miscalculations. The work provides a nuanced view, neither indicting nor acquitting, but explaining the tragedy of poor planning and conflation of Hussein's brutality with exaggerated threats.

In this persuasive book, Bronwen Maddox examines America's complexities, acknowledging criticisms like Bush-era policies while expressing optimism for its future through better environmental responsibility and transatlantic relations. Spanning 11 chapters, it addresses anti-American sentiment, the country's greatest values, economic and cultural concerns, foreign policy, and prospects for restoring its global image.