The Choice
Zbigniew K. Brzezinski
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Buy *The Choice: Global Domination or Global Leadership* online

The Choice: Global Domination or Global Leadership
Zbigniew K. Brzezinski
Basic Books
Hardcover
242 pages
March 2004
rated 4 1/2 of 5 possible stars

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When it comes to truly recognizing the position of the United States as the dominating world presence, nobody knows better than Zbigniew Brzezinski the path that we must, as a nation, take to ensure liberty and security. With his powerful new book, The Choice: Global Domination or Global Leadership, this former national security advisor urges us to make the right choice for all concerned; the choice of global leadership and multilateralism over global domination and unilateralism. You may not be able to spell, or pronounce, his name, but when you are done reading his book, you will clearly understand current foreign policy and the inherent choices we must consider to thrive and survive as a superpower.

Using his profound political and military knowledge and his ability to present in layman’s terms the most intricate foreign policies, Brzezinski first lays down the problems of global domination and American hegemony and details the dangers for United States supremacy in the world if we go down the path of pre-emptive wars, anti-Muslim raging, dehumanizing globalization and total world dominance using strongarm tactics that borderline on terrorism.

The book challenges the current Bush administration’s foreign policies on every level and makes the frightening decision that we are at a crossroads, where our choices from this point on will determine the future of America as a superpower and a world leader. The alternatives to hegemony, unilateralism and a globalization that creates a wider gap between rich and poor are also laid out, and Brzezinsky makes a great case for using our power for good and for positive leadership in the world -- which is why most right-wing Republicans hate him, and will hate this book! He does NOT espouse pre-emptive wars, killing all Muslims, pushing Christianity down the throats of third-world nations, globalizing economies at the expense of the poor and the environment, or manipulating intelligence data to start needless wars based upon plans for Western domination of the Middle East and its oil supplies.

Instead, he offers ideas and plans for continuing our position as a world leader that works with other nations for the good of all, yet is still a primary superpower with the military might to police itself, and other nations, when all hell breaks loose, as it is sure to if we continue acting like warmongers and aggressors. He also examines the fine and dangerous line between national security and civil rights, warning that we be very careful that we do not lose our liberties in a misguided attempt to save them.

Also discussed in this small but intensive book is the necessity to properly shape America’s role in Far East economic developments, the concept of drawing Russia into the Atlantic framework, identifying real threats to American security, working with globalization efforts to prevent inequality and human rights violations, and balancing our policing efforts worldwide with support for developing nations in the midst of civil strife. In addition, he covers the raging violence between Israel and Palestine and suggests that we tread with care in this region, working to give both sides what they want without the blatant favoritism of the Bush administration’s attempts to appease Israel and, in fact, even start wars in Muslim nations at their bequest.

As the current Counselor at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and a professor of foreign policy at Johns Hopkins University, as well as a prolific author, Brzezinski has continued to be a driving force on the frontlines of political change from his time as national security advisor under President Jimmy Carter. In other words, this is a man we can all turn to, left and right, for advice and knowledge about the best direction for this nation to take in the years ahead. Powerful people from both sides of the political spectrum have praised him, and this book shows why.

The Choice is ours to make as voters and as citizens. We must learn all we can and then pressure our leaders to do not just what is best for our nation, but what is best for the world. After all, 9/11 proved that we are not an island, but rather part of an intrinsically linked international and interdependent web of nations… for better or for worse.

Global domination or global leadership? What will we decide?


© 2004 by Marie D. Jones for Curled Up With a Good Book

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