Every Man in This Village is a Liar: A Memoir of War and Deception - Perfect for History Buffs & Political Science Students

My reading choices are sometimes not rational. I bought this book because I had written in a comment to a review by a friend that it seemed to me that I knew all that this book has to say and hence didn't have to read it. Another commenter then called me an idiot, maybe in politer terms, and so I bought the book. I did not regret it.It is a very personal and very emotional statement against the phantom called `war on terror'. The author has been a war correspondent since 2001. The book is a sort of war memoir, written in powerful and sometimes flowery language. It also manages to cover a broad geographical and historical scope in decent brevity (250 pages), which is possible because she is not trying to write a concise history of US entanglements in the region.She does not offer a productive way of thinking about foreign affairs. This is impressive impressionism, an antidote to insane optimism. There is no solution, only helplessness. Thinking of the persistence in carrying on this phantom of a war, I was reminded of the military leaders in WW1: carrying on with the murderous trench warfare for years and years, for lack of imagination and alternatives.Did I learn anything new from the book? Not really. Was it a waste of time? Not at all. We need to remind ourselves once in a while of what we know and forget due to the routine of daily repetitions.An outstanding piece of journalism.Was there ever a war on terror?