War Made Invisible: How America Hides the Human Toll of Its Military Machine

Journalist Solomon (Made Love, Got War) offers a sharp critique of Republicans and Democrats who advocate for military action, U.S. media coverage that makes it easier to sell wars to the public, and the often-hidden cost of civilian casualties from errant U.S. attacks. He claims that when Russia targeted Ukrainian cities during the recent invasion, the U.S. media was “all-hands-on-deck with empathetic, poignant reporting.... But, when American missiles and bombs hit population centers over the previous two decades, the human tragedies rarely got anything more than short shrift.” (He also notes that the architect of the U.S. military’s “shock and awe” strategy in the 2003 Iraq has “judged the Russia effort to be of inferior quality, with mild impact compared to what he had pushed the Pentagon to inflict on Baghdad.”) Elsewhere, Solomon critiques the Biden administration for providing weapons and logistical support to Saudi Arabia while the country wages war in Yemen, notes that the Pentagon’s annual funding for special operations has increased by $10 billion since 2001, and calls out the “U.S. media establishment” for giving “full-throated support” to the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan, only to offer a much harsher judgment 20 years later. Though Solomon paints U.S. journalism and foreign policy in broad strokes, he builds a convincing case that too many secrets are being kept from the public. It’s a troubling and worthwhile call for change. (June)