September 11 was the worst attack on American soil since Pearl Harbor. Yet even though the forces of Islamic totalitarianism are materially far weaker than the enemies we faced in World War II, and even though America’s military strength is unrivaled, the Afghanistan and Iraq wars became quagmires. U.S. combat forces are set to withdraw from both places, without victory in either. Jihadists have not only carried out murderous attacks around the world, they have weakened the West by battering a pillar of free societies: the secular principle of freedom of speech.
What went wrong after 9/11?
The fundamental problem lies in the irrational philosophic ideas that permeate—and subvert—American foreign policy. The United States is a military superpower, but it lacks the principles, self-confidence and moral certainty needed to defend itself and its ideals. Our political and intellectual leaders evade the nature of Islamic totalitarianism. And their inability to uphold and defend so vital a right as the freedom of speech has further inspired the jihadists.
For twenty years after 9/11, the Ayn Rand Institute predicted that prevailing ideas about morality would undercut our foreign policy and cripple us in action. Those predictions have proven correct.
This second edition has been substantially expanded. Added to the op-eds, interviews and essays analyzing American policy from George W. Bush to Barack Obama are writings published between 2016 and 2021. Commentary spanning four quite different presidential administrations underscores the profound impact of philosophic ideas in foreign policy, regardless of who sits in the Oval Office.
Can we end the Islamist menace and secure our right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness on earth? Yes—easily—if we adopt the right philosophic principles to guide our foreign policy.
What People Are Saying:
“Anyone interested to know why fifteen years after the expulsion of al-Qaeda and its host Taliban regime from Afghanistan, and five years after the killing of Osama bin Laden, jihadist Islam is still on the march must read this brilliant collection of essays.”
—Professor Efraim Karsh, King’s College London and Bar-Ilan University, author of Islamic Imperialism: A History
“I find this collection of essays heartbreakingly rational, masterfully reasoned, entirely clear, prescient—and therefore utterly heartbreaking—because the handwriting was on the very sky, from the moment Khomeini held our diplomats hostage—and by 2001, you and your team at the ARI were on duty speaking out against the willful blindness, cowardice, irrationality, and denial that has characterized the failure of American foreign policy under both Republican and Democratic presidents.”
—Phyllis Chesler, Ph.D. Author of fifteen books, including The New Anti-Semitism and An American Bride in Kabul, Fellow, the Middle East Forum.
“This brilliant collection of editorials and interviews is a moral tour de force. . . . Onkar Ghate and Elan Journo offer a clear and consistent presentation of what a moral and rational American foreign policy ought to look like. The essays also offer original and insightful analyses of the West’s suicidal questioning of its own right to exist. The shameful appeasement, the destructive altruism behind our war efforts, and the tragic ways our government has become an agent for the self-defense of the citizens of enemy countries at the expense of its own citizens are all expertly and impressively highlighted. This original and intellectually honest book dares to identify the only antidotes to the current crisis we face in fighting Islamic terrorism: reason, rational self-interest and a merciless strategy designed to vanquish the enemy. This book will inspire and infuriate many in our culture. It provides that rare combination of philosophical principles applied to concrete political problems. The solutions provided here are the only viable ones in our culture today.”
—Jason D. Hill, Ph.D., Professor of Philosophy, De Paul University
“This brilliant collection of editorials and interviews is a moral tour de force. . . . Onkar Ghate and Elan Journo offer a clear and consistent presentation of what a moral and rational American foreign policy ought to look like. The essays also offer original and insightful analyses of the West’s suicidal questioning of its own right to exist. The shameful appeasement, the destructive altruism behind our war efforts, and the tragic ways our government has become an agent for the self-defense of the citizens of enemy countries at the expense of its own citizens are all expertly and impressively highlighted. This original and intellectually honest book dares to identify the only antidotes to the current crisis we face in fighting Islamic terrorism: reason, rational self-interest and a merciless strategy designed to vanquish the enemy. This book will inspire and infuriate many in our culture. It provides that rare combination of philosophical principles applied to concrete political problems. The solutions provided here are the only viable ones in our culture today.”
—Carol Gould. Broadcaster and author of Don’t Tread on Me: Anti-Americanism Abroad, and Spitfire Girls.
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