America's warlords: up close with the U.S. military regional commanders who run the world

Washington Monthly, March, 2003 by James Fallows

To say that the theme of the book is "imperial overstretch" would be too simple; Priest says that many of America's new missions are necessary and effective. But she establishes beyond question that the effects of military engagements are vastly more complicated than they seem when going in. I had thought that David Fromkin's A Peace to End All Peace was the most valuable background book about warfare in Iraq. (It says that the dismantling of the Ottoman Empire, at the end of World War I, pre-ordained most of the problems of the modern Middle East.) The Mission is a worthy complement.

JAMBS FALLOWS, a Washington Monthly contributing editor, is a national correspondent for The Atlantic Monthly.