Talk by Dr. Bacevich on his book 'Breach of Trust' on Tuesday, April 8, 2014 at 6:30 PM at the Walpole Public Library

Dr. Andrew Bacevich will talk about his book ‘Breach of Trust: How Americans Failed Their Soldiers and Their Country’ on  Tuesday, April 8, 2014 at 6:30 PM at the Walpole Public Library. In his book, Dr. Bacevich makes a  blistering critique of a gulf that exists between America’s soldiers and the society that sends them off to war. He traces the origins of that separation to the Vietnam era and explores its pernicious implications: a nation with an abiding appetite for war waged at enormous expense by a standing army demonstrably unable to achieve victory. Among the collateral casualties is the core democratic principle that responsibility for defending the country should rest with its citizens.  Should Americans refuse to shoulder this responsibility, Bacevich warns, we face the prospect of endless war, waged by a “foreign legion” of professionals and contractor-mercenaries, and societal bankruptcy—moral as well as fiscal.

Andrew J. Bacevich is Professor of International Relations and History at Boston University. A graduate of the U.S. Military Academy, he received his PhD from Princeton University. Dr. Bacevich is the author of several books, including ‘Washington Rules: America’s Path to Permanent War’ and ‘The Limits of Power: The End of American Exceptionalism.’  His essays, reviews, and op-eds have appeared in publications of The Wilson Quarterly , Foreign Affair, the New York Times and the Boston Globe.

Dr. Bacevich’s talk is sponsored by the Walpole Peace and Justice Group. It will be held in the Community Room at the Walpole Public Library, 143 School Street, Walpole, MA.