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A review by svarnyp
Tajné války - Svět je bitevní pole by Jeremy Scahill
5.0
EN / CZ
This is book was for me something of a Lovecraftian read - a book that takes our happy daily lifes and then shatters their peacefulness and innocence by showing us what is going on under the surface. A similar experience as with McMafia or similar books. Currently, with the new US administration, this book becomes even more frightening.
What is it about? Basically the story of how the War on Terror went of the rails and became a permanent war with very shady processes governing it. Although it addresses many details of this change, legal earthquakes, motives of different actors, there is an underlying narrative showing how the US decided to kill one of their citizens without any court or attempt to capture them.
Do not let the immense size of the book scare you, it is worth it and if you do not have time, read at least the last chapter (I guess called Perpetual war in the English version) as it sums up the main points. However, reading the whole book was an experience a little bit similar to reading Merle's Death Is My Trade - the slow and gradual change from normality to madness.
The only drawback I would list is the length and from it following pacing. However, I consider it as an attempt of a complete description of the situation and this picture is really built up from a lot of small pieces.
CZ
Jednoznačně doporučuji přečíst, alespoň poslední kapitolu, která shrnuje poslání knihy. Vskutku opus zachycující složitou mozaiku událostí a snažící se podat ucelený a úplný obraz reality "špinavých" válek. Kniha popisuje legalizaci mezinárodní neohraničené špinavé války - zabíjení lidí, kteří jsou teroristy či z terorismu alespoň podezřelí.
Jak Bushova, tak Obamova administrativa postupně vybudovala aparát, který nahání hrůzu pro svou bezohlednost a totální absenci dohledu či kontroly. Ač ve svém inauguračním proslovu prezident Obama ubezpečoval, že o zabíjení lidí nerozhoduje nějaká tajemná skupina za zavřenými dveřmi a nedochází k civilním ztrátám - opak toho, co se ten den dělo v Jemenu.
This is book was for me something of a Lovecraftian read - a book that takes our happy daily lifes and then shatters their peacefulness and innocence by showing us what is going on under the surface. A similar experience as with McMafia or similar books. Currently, with the new US administration, this book becomes even more frightening.
What is it about? Basically the story of how the War on Terror went of the rails and became a permanent war with very shady processes governing it. Although it addresses many details of this change, legal earthquakes, motives of different actors, there is an underlying narrative showing how the US decided to kill one of their citizens without any court or attempt to capture them.
Do not let the immense size of the book scare you, it is worth it and if you do not have time, read at least the last chapter (I guess called Perpetual war in the English version) as it sums up the main points. However, reading the whole book was an experience a little bit similar to reading Merle's Death Is My Trade - the slow and gradual change from normality to madness.
The only drawback I would list is the length and from it following pacing. However, I consider it as an attempt of a complete description of the situation and this picture is really built up from a lot of small pieces.
CZ
Jednoznačně doporučuji přečíst, alespoň poslední kapitolu, která shrnuje poslání knihy. Vskutku opus zachycující složitou mozaiku událostí a snažící se podat ucelený a úplný obraz reality "špinavých" válek. Kniha popisuje legalizaci mezinárodní neohraničené špinavé války - zabíjení lidí, kteří jsou teroristy či z terorismu alespoň podezřelí.
Jak Bushova, tak Obamova administrativa postupně vybudovala aparát, který nahání hrůzu pro svou bezohlednost a totální absenci dohledu či kontroly. Ač ve svém inauguračním proslovu prezident Obama ubezpečoval, že o zabíjení lidí nerozhoduje nějaká tajemná skupina za zavřenými dveřmi a nedochází k civilním ztrátám - opak toho, co se ten den dělo v Jemenu.