911
A01=Michael E. Neagle
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi
Afghanistan
al Qaeda
American exceptionalism
Augusto Sandino
Author_Michael E. Neagle
bandit
Barack Obama
Bolivia
Category=JPWL
Category=NHK
Category=NHW
Che Guevara
CIA
Cold War
Colombia
Congo
DEA
Delta Force
Donald Trump
Emilio Aguinaldo
eq_bestseller
eq_history
eq_isMigrated=1
eq_isMigrated=2
eq_nobargain
eq_non-fiction
eq_society-politics
Fidel Castro
George H.W. Bush
George W. Bush
Global War on Terror
guerrilla
Herbert Hoover
ISIS
John "Black Jack" Pershing
John F. Kennedy
Leonard Wood
Medellin cartel
Mexico
Moros
Nicaragua
non-state actors
Osama bin Laden
Pablo Escobar
Pakistan
Pancho Villa
Philippines
Ronald Reagan
Sandinistas
savage
SEAL Team 6
terrorist
US imperialism
US-Philippine War
War on Drugs
water cure
Product details
- ISBN 9781469691046
- Dimensions: 25 x 235mm
- Publication Date: 11 Nov 2025
- Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press
- Publication City/Country: US
- Product Form: Paperback
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While the war on terror has been America's largest and most publicized attempt to root out foreign enemies this century, the quest to identify and destroy real or imagined threats to national security has long been a part of US history. Indeed, since the onset of the United States' overseas empire at the dawn of the twentieth century, it has pursued enemies in places of strategic interest around the globe: the remote islands of the Philippines, the US southern border, hemispheric hot spots in Central and South America, and the greater Middle East.
The common depiction of these kinds of foes—private actors who did not formally represent the countries they fought for—has maintained a remarkable consistency over time. The only difference is that enemies who used to be called "bandits" then are now more often referred to as "terrorists." Connoting an illegitimacy of both cause and means, the widespread use of such terms also has served to blunt deeper considerations of US foreign engagements. Drawing on six case studies, Michael E. Neagle spotlights the commonalities of how the United States has leveraged popular understandings of "bandits" to justify incursions abroad as well as rally popular and political support at home.
The common depiction of these kinds of foes—private actors who did not formally represent the countries they fought for—has maintained a remarkable consistency over time. The only difference is that enemies who used to be called "bandits" then are now more often referred to as "terrorists." Connoting an illegitimacy of both cause and means, the widespread use of such terms also has served to blunt deeper considerations of US foreign engagements. Drawing on six case studies, Michael E. Neagle spotlights the commonalities of how the United States has leveraged popular understandings of "bandits" to justify incursions abroad as well as rally popular and political support at home.
Michael E. Neagle is professor of history at Nichols College.
