To understand how we've arrived at such a dangerous place, Maddow takes us from the Vietnam War to today's war in Afghanistan, along the way exploring the disturbing rise of executive authority, the gradual outsourcing of our war-making capabilities to private companies, the plummeting percentage of American families whose children fight our constant wars for us, and even the changing fortunes of G.I. Joe.
She offers up a fresh, unsparing appraisal of Reagan's radical presidency. Ultimately, she shows us just how much we stand to lose by allowing the priorities of the national security state to overpower our political discourse. Sensible yet provocative, dead serious yet seriously funny, Drift will reinvigorate a "loud and jangly" political debate about how, when, and where to apply America's strength and power -- and who gets to make those decisions.
Background Information
Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence, founded the Democratic-Republican Party and was the third President. After the French proved themselves unable to recover their Indonesian territory after World War II, the United States gradually took on their role and became mired in a land war. Afghanistan was invaded in 2001 as a result of the refusal of its Taliban government to reject Osama Bin Laden. Ronald Reagan launched the United States into a military buildup contest with the Soviet Union that the Russians ultimately couldn't sustain.