Common Courage Press, 2005
 
             Inside the old main lobby of CIA headquarters in Langley,  Virginia, there are large letters etched in marble, taken straight from the Christian bible, announcing that “...the truth shall set you free." It is, of course, a classic case of Orwellian doublespeak, chillingly reminiscent of the slogan on the arched gate of Auschwitz, which read “Arbeit Macht Frei”, work makes you free. Neither truth nor work will ever make us free, especially the way the Nazis and the CIA practice it. Only freedom will make us free. And despite the many myths and insidious disinformation spread by politicians and the media, the US government has not been a font of freedom in the world, but all too often its cork.
             As a former State Department official and the author of Killing Hope: U.S. Military and CIA Interventions Since World War II , William Blum writes in the proud critical tradition of true global patriots, including contemporaries such as Noam Chomsky, Greg Palast, Arundhati Roy, and Howard Zinn. Blum’s new edition of Rogue State lays out an updated and devastating critique of US foreign policy by documenting the truth and letting it (mostly) speak for itself. With its three sections, containing twenty-seven bite-sized chapters, Rogue State covers the seamy side of US foreign policy, often letting policymakers hang themselves with the ropes of their own words, while allowing US deeds to do likewise. There are, tragically, way too many examples. “In the absence of an official Truth Commission in the United States”, Blum says, “this book is offered up as testimony." And it is damning testimony at that.
             In his September 20, 2001 speech to a Joint Session of Congress, George W. Bush asked “why do they hate us?,” answering that “They hate our freedoms—our freedom of religion, our freedom of speech, our freedom to vote and assemble and disagree with each other." Thomas Friedman, the Pulitzer Prize-winning essayist for the New York Times similarly opined that terrorists “have no specific ideological program or demands. Rather, they are driven by a generalized hatred of the US."
             “What our leaders and pundits never let slip”, however, according to Blum, “is that the terrorists—whatever else they might be—might also be rational human beings...Most terrorists”, he continues, “are people deeply concerned by what they see as social, political, or religious injustice and hypocrisy, and the immediate grounds for their terrorism is often retaliation for an action of the United States”. It doesn’t make terrorism any more justified, which it is not. However, information and context can make terrorism more understandable, and hopefully more avoidable. As with any good detective work, determining the motive is important in understanding and apprehending criminals and preventing future crime. Blum illustrates in graphic detail that terrorism isn’t just directed at the US, but is also encouraged and practiced by the US.
             With American forces engaged in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan, and with low-intensity warfare being waged in Colombia, the Philippines, and elsewhere, Rogue State is particularly important to read. Blum shows (or reminds) us that US policy is often not benign (“doing the right thing is not a principle of American foreign policy”, but is occasionally incidental, he argues) and new tragedies are not reinventions of the wheel. Indeed, history is littered with atrocities where the US was either complicit, a combatant, a conspirator, a confederate, a contributor, or simply condoned the activities, which may only sometimes coincide with the high moral ground.
              “The engine of American foreign policy”, Blum argues, “has been fueled not by a devotion to any kind of morality, nor even simple decency, but rather by the necessity to serve other masters, which can be broken down” into what Blum maintains are “four imperatives”: (1) globalization for the benefit of US-based corporations; (2) corporate welfare for military contractors who give lavish campaign contributions; (3) preventing the possibility of a positive example of non-capitalist development; and (4) extending US hegemony over as much of the world as possible while shaping it in America’s image. It is all too clear that the US is being a role model, according to Blum, but it is unfortunately doing so by the law of power (i.e., coercion and violence), rather than the power of law (i.e., rights and democracy).
             Although there is some, it would have been better to have more of Blum’s analysis in the book to smooth out and contextualize the enormous amount of (almost) raw data that Rogue State supplies. In spite of this lacuna, Rogue State is an excellent—albeit maddening—read, serving as a useful reference for when new issues and circumstances inevitably arise. This book would also be particularly useful for a variety of courses and people interested in American government, US foreign policy, political sociology, modern US and world history, political economy, globalization, and related subjects. Indeed, Rogue State is a worthwhile read for anyone who cares what their government is doing in their name, but not in their interest.
             If  George Orwell was right in thinking that at a time “of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act”, then it is abundantly clear that William Blum is a  much-needed revolutionary. Liberate your history and liberate your mind by reading this book. It is only by taking what you know and putting it into action that will lead to changes in US policy. Therein lies our freedom.