Summary of Michael J. Mazarr's Leap of Faith

By IRB Media

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Book Preview:

#1 Camp David is the official retreat of American presidents, and it is a rustic facility tucked into the forested northern edge of Maryland. It is a second-rate family resort, according to publicly available photographs.

#2 The decision to launch an ill-conceived invasion of Iraq as the centerpiece of a war on terror has been a historical misjudgment of the first order. The war has been a catastrophe for the Iraqi people, and it has drained US finances.

#3 The decision to invade Iraq was the worst American foreign policy decision since Vietnam, and it was made without a single, clear, dispositive decision. It was a prolonged and methodical preparation for the invasion, but it never came up at the Camp David session in September 2002.

#4 Many people believe that the Iraq war was a result of a self-consciously dishonest plot to hoodwink the American people. But my research has shown that the two factors that are especially relevant to understanding how such a tragedy could occur are the fuel of American missionary ambitions and the spark of an intuitive, value-driven judgment.

• Language: English
• Publisher: IRB Media
• Release date: May 2, 2022
• ISBN: 9798822501102

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Insights on Michael J. Mazarr's Leap of Faith

Contents

Insights from Chapter 1

Insights from Chapter 2

Insights from Chapter 3

Insights from Chapter 4

Insights from Chapter 5

Insights from Chapter 6

Insights from Chapter 7

Insights from Chapter 8

Insights from Chapter 9

Insights from Chapter 10

Insights from Chapter 11

Insights from Chapter 1

#1

Camp David is the official retreat of American presidents, and it is a rustic facility tucked into the forested northern edge of Maryland. It is a second-rate family resort, according to publicly available photographs.

#2

The decision to launch an ill-conceived invasion of Iraq as the centerpiece of a war on terror has been a historical misjudgment of the first order. The war has been a catastrophe for the Iraqi people, and it has drained US finances.

#3

The decision to invade Iraq was the worst American foreign policy decision since Vietnam, and it was made without a single, clear, dispositive decision. It was a prolonged and methodical preparation for the invasion, but it never came up at the Camp David session in September 2002.

#4

Many people believe that the Iraq war was a result of a self-consciously dishonest plot to hoodwink the American people. But my research has shown that the two factors that are especially relevant to understanding how such a tragedy could occur are the fuel of American missionary ambitions and the spark of an intuitive, value-driven judgment.

#5

While many in the Bush administration believed war was inevitable after September 11, the decision to go to war had not been made clear yet. The planning for war had been going on for months, and the invasion was almost two-thirds complete by the time of the Camp David meeting.

#6

Bush was a man who, on an individual level, possessed a caring touch, but who was completely disconnected from the decisions that affected the lives of millions. He was the son of one of America’s most powerful political dynasties, and yet he eschewed luxury boxes for regular seats behind the dugout.

#7

The story of the Iraq decision is a tale of gradual, piecemeal, and intuitive decisions that led to the war. It was a gradual process that began with the first Gulf War, when the US relationship with Iraq began its downward slide from wary engagement into bitter hostility.

#8

A new assessment is important because what many people think they know about the origins of the war is wrong. The typical story of the origins of the Iraq war is of a sort of malicious crime perpetrated on the American people. But this is not correct.

#9

The Iraq war was a tragic misjudgment of the first order, but it can also be used as a lesson for how not to make decisions regarding foreign affairs. The Bay of Pigs was an effort by mostly decent and intelligent people to perform what they considered to be the necessary emergency procedure of excising Fidel Castro.

#10

The American missionary impulse, which stems from the country’s desire to make the world a better place, can lead to a theological and absolutist conception of America’s responsibility. This mentality has contributed to some of the most disastrous blunders in American foreign policy.

#11

The planning for the invasion of Iraq was muddled and incoherent, as the leaders who advocated for it were operating under the assumption that it was the right and necessary thing to do.

#12

The Iraq War showed us that America is not a new and unique civilization marching ever forward down the road to progress,