World War IV
The Long Struggle Against Islamofascism
(amazon)Norman Podhoretz (View Bio)
Hardcover: Doubleday, 2007.
In 2001 war was declared on the United States, but many Americans still find it hard to understand what this war is all about. Why were we attacked? Why did we invade Afghanistan? What are we doing in Iraq? Is Iran a serious threat? Does the war going on between Israel and the terrorists of Hezbollah have anything to do with the U.S.? It is impossible to answer such questions without first recognizing that we are in the early stages of a new world war.Norman Podhoretz calls it World War IV because he believes that what is known as the "Cold War" was actually World War III. Like World War III, World War IV is being fought against an aggressively expanding totalitarian ideology—Communism then, Islamofascism today. Like World War III, the current World War is being fought on many different fronts and with many different weapons, not all of them bombs and guns. And like World War III (which lasted 42 years), World War IV will probably take three decades or more to win.This book will tell the story of how and why World War IV started, it will explain what the stakes are in this war, and it will show why it is absolutely imperative that we win.Taking on and decisively refuting the arguments of the war's many opponents, who are found on the Right as well as the Left, Norman Podhoretz provides the first book that places the events of the past five years in the context of the role America has played in the world since 1945. It is a serious and persuasive defense of that role and one that counters the many forms of opposition to it.
"Norman Podhoretz's book is an antidote to the attempt to return to the denial of the 1990s. It forcefully argues for an America truly on offense against Islamic terrorism." — Rudy Giuliani, former mayor of New York
"In this compelling book, Norman Podhoretz convinced me that using the term Third World War to describe the war on terror is wrong. This is the fourth world war (with the cold war as a third great struggle between freedom and tyranny), and it is a war we can win and must win. Every citizen interested in our survival as a free and safe country should read World War IV." — Newt Gingrich, former Speaker of the House
"You must read this forceful analysis of where we are—at war—and why we must remain engaged and be ready to act in defense of our national security." — George P. Shultz, former U.S. secretary of state
"Stunning, brutally honest, indispensable—a huge service to truth and history, and to our prospects for prevailing." — R. James Woolsey, director of central intelligence, 1993-1995
"WORLD WAR IV will make a lot of people unhappy. Thank goodness. With any luck, it will wake up many more." — John R. Bolton, former United States ambassador to the United Nations
"Norman Podhoretz has always had the gift of moral—and linguistic—clarity. This new book is true to his passion and craft, a work that counsels patience and fortitude against encircling radicalisms. A terrific and rewarding read.?" — Foaud Ajami, director of the Middle East Studies Program, The Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies
