Streets Without Joy: A Political History of Sanctuary and War, 1959-2009

Innes, Michael A.

Abstract

America’s wars after the 9/11 attacks were marked by a political obsession with terrorist ‘sanctuaries’ and ‘safe havens’. From mountain redoubts in Afghanistan to the deserts of Iraq, Washington’s policy-makers maintained an unwavering focus on finding and destroying the refuges, bases and citadels of modern guerrilla movements, and holding their sponsors to account. This was a preoccupation embedded in nearly every official speech and document of the time, a corpus of material that offered a new logic for thinking about the world. As an exercise in political communication, it was a spectacular success. From 2001 to 2009, President George W. Bush and his closest advisors set terms of reference that cascaded down from the White House, through government and into the hearts and minds of Americans. ‘Sanctuary’ was the red thread running through all of it, permeating the decisions and discourses of the day.

Where did this obsession come from? How did it become such an important feature of American political life? This new political history explores precedents, from Saigon to Baghdad, and traces how decision-makers and their advisors used ideas of sanctuary to redefine American foreign policy, national security, and enemies real and imagined.

Citation

Innes, M. A. (2021). Streets Without Joy: A Political History of Sanctuary and War, 1959-2009. Hurst and Co

• Book Type: Authored Book
• Publication Date: Jul 1, 2021
• Deposit Date: Nov 18, 2019
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• ISBN: 9781787383173
• Related Public URLs: https://www.hurstpublishers.com/book/streets-without-joy/
• Additional Information: Copyright Statement : This is the version of the chapter accepted for publication in Streets Without Joy: A Political History of Sanctuary and War, 1959-2009 published by C. Hurst & Co. Publishers Accepted version downloaded from SOAS Research Online: http://eprints.soas.ac.uk/31885