Phyllis Bennis: Understanding ISIS and the New Global War on Terror

The US is again involved in brutal wars on many fronts. What George W. Bush called his “global war on terror” has since become the primary effort of American foreign policy. Consider the US/NATO assault on Libya , thousands of US troops on the ground in Iraq, current plans to keep combat troops active in Afghanistan, drone wars increasing in Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia, and elsewhere – and new air wars proceeding against ISIS and others in Iraq, Syria, and the presence of US military in countless other countries.

What is ISIS? Why are they so violent? Are they the same as al-Qaeda? Can you really go to war against terror? Exactly how should the US respond to ISIS? What unknown dangers are involved in the US approach?

Phyllis Bennis has the background and experience to answer these questions. She directs the New Internationalism Project at International Policy Studies, and she is a fellow of the Transnational Institute in Amsterdam. She has been a writer, analyst, and activist on Middle East and UN issues for many years. In 2001 she helped found and remains on the advisory board of the U.S. Campaign to End Israeli Occupation. She continues to serve as an informal adviser to several top UN officials on Middle East and UN democratization issues.

“With her customary lucidity and talent for judicious interpretation, Phyllis Bennis provides an authoritative introduction to all that is now known about ISIS, It is more than a ‘primer,’ offering an indispensable account of the complex turmoil afflicting the Middle East.” — Richard Falk, Professor Emeritus of International Law and Practice, Princeton University, and former UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territory

Phyllis Bennis is the author of eight books, including : From Stones to Statehood: The Palestinian Uprising (1990); Calling the Shots: How Washington Dominates Today’s UN (2000); Before & After: US Foreign Policy and the September 11th Crisis (2003) [US Policy and the War on Terrorism, 2nd ed.]; Understanding the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict: A Primer (2009); Ending the Iraq War: A Primer (2009); Understanding the US-Iran Crisis: A Primer (2009); Ending the US War in Afghanistan: A Primer (2010).

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