Book Review: David E. Sanger, ed., Confront and Conceal

Published date01 June 2014
AuthorMoutusi Paul Choudhury (Naskar)
DOI10.1177/0973598414535064
Date01 June 2014
Subject MatterBook Reviews
Book Reviews
David E. Sanger, ed., Confront and Conceal. New York: Broadway
Paperbacks, 2012–2013, p. 485.
The book Confront and Conceal by David E. Sanger provides a reveal-
ing account of the Obama administration jostling with policy prescrip-
tions to bring the Afghan war to an end, ensuring the security of the
nearby regions—hunt down Bin Laden and finish off any last remnants
of Al-Qaeda and in the course maintain the US hegemonic dominance
round the world. Sanger, being the chief Washington correspondent for
the New York Times, has access to the details of the situation room, first-
hand account from sources inside the administration, which enables him
to provide his readers an understanding of the intricacies that goes into
making a particular policy and its execution to perfection. Sanger also
skillfully makes his reader aware that even the most powerful man in the
world is motivated and constrained by human emotions and instincts as
is revealed during President Obama’s decision to issue the order for a hot
pursuit of Osama, the debate generated during the Arab Spring and justi-
fication of the drone attacks. This book is a must-read for anyone trying
to understand the foreign policy process of the Obama administration.
More than a decade has passed since the 9/11 attacks, but the USA is
still embroiled in what George W. Bush termed the existential threat of
international terrorism. This book is about the policy choices that
President Obama made in order to ‘refresh’ America’s commitment to
fighting terrorism in Afghanistan, Iraq, and beyond and also to reset
America’s relation with allies and adversaries alike.
When Obama entered the White House there were expectations that
his approach to foreign policy would greatly differ from that of his
Jadavpur Journal of
International Relations
18(1) 85–102
2014 Jadavpur University
SAGE Publications
Los Angeles, London,
New Delhi, Singapore,
Washington DC
DOI: 10.1177/0973598414535064
http://jnr.sagepub.com

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