A-Infos (en) Freedom 6404 22 Feb, 2003 - Book review: Addicted to war

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Addicted to War: why the US can't kick militarism, by 
Joel Andreas (AK Press, £6.95)
If greater support were ever needed for the anti-war 
movement, this would be the tool for the job. Joel 
Andreas's "illustrated expose" of US militarism should 
be photocopied and distributed en masse. Simple to 
read, yet with all the information and punch of a 
heavy-going academic tome, this graphic novel tells 
the shocking truth about American military 
aggression, from the early days of US independence up 
to Afghanistan and the 'War on Terror'. Despite its 
simple format, it still contains sources and quotes that 
rival any 'grown-up' hardback.

It's narrated by a mother whose pay cheque is bled by 
taxation (funding the $1 million a minute spent by the 
Pentagon, we learn) and her son, whose school can't 
even afford toilet paper due to cutbacks ("I prefer the 
bake sale finance" says one Congressman as he 
increases spending on arms). Visually it's superb to 
read and easy to comprehend. You can tell someone 
that bin Laden was funded and trained by the CIA, but 
the frame with Reagan and Osama cuddling back in 
the Cold War '80s is far more effective in getting the 
message across than an 'intellectual' book that the 
average person wouldn't even come across, let alone 
glance at.

Addicted to War could've been written at any period 
of American history, from George Washington to the 
present, precisely because the United States has 
constantly been a military aggressor. The whole thing 
is condensed brilliantly, with quotes from people in 
power and the State Department memos they'd rather 
you didn't read. Now updated, with an added chapter 
on the 'War on Terror', it's startlingly contemporary 
and its ongoing relevance makes it ever more 
important.

Although it uses the old cliche of the arms 
manufacturer with an evil grin, dollar-sign tie and 
cigar, the visual impact of its bite-sized messages is its 
strong point. The facts, though not new to most, are 
still jaw-dropping. To actually visualise US aggression 
and foreign policy in these terms brings it out of its 
seemingly abstract, and therefore 'irrelevant' form, and 
into its life-and-death reality. The facts are told as 
they are. As a graphic novel this can be read by nearly 
all ages and by practically anyone. Especially those 
who wouldn't go near a 'serious' political book, as 
Andreas achieves in a cartoon frame what a 
long-winded tome would take a paragraph to do.
Joseph H.

Addicted to War is available from Freedom Press, 
price £6.95 (post free in UK, add £1 elsewhere).

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