ADDICTED TO WAR takes on the most active, powerful and destructive military force in

the world. It reveals why the U.S. has been involved in more wars in recent years than any other
country. Hard-hitting and carefully documented, this book cites 145 references, indicating
published sources of information. An ‘un-put-down-able’ expose, which you might read in two
hours, but won’t forget it in a hurry.
“Our young people will learn more about the cult of militarism in this short and accurate book,
than they might in twelve years of schooling. Witholding this kind of information from the
young is a betrayal of the sacred trust given to educators... Promulgating this book is a
consciousness raising and life saving venture.”
- Blase Bonpane, Ph.D., Director, Office of the Americas
 “... a rare gift. This book should be read by every person who cares about the human condition.
It reveals truths that (are vital) to understand if we are ever to experience peace and justice for
all the people of the earth.”
- Fr. Roy Bourgeois, founder of ‘School of the Americas Watch’

“Addicted to War is not only a witty and entertaining portrait of our military war dependent
economy, but a truly relevant insight not available in mainstream media, something our children
should know before they must make their choice to become fodder for the military machine.”
- Susan Sarandon, Actress

“Brilliant!... an excellent teaching tool and primer to help people understand some of the
things that really drive this country The art is fabulous, and helps to take the sting out of such
a grisly subject.”
- Michael Ruppert, former LAPD Narcotics Officer

“Addicted To War is an extraordinarily important and powerful little book ...”

- Ron Kovic, Vietnam veteran, author of “Born on the 4th of July”

“This book analyses why (some) men are addicted to righting and killing - an addiction that
could, in this nuclear age, destroy all life on earth, creating the final epidemic of the human
race.”
- Helen Caldicott, pediatrician, peace activist, author of “Missile Envy’

“The idiocy of war is apparent... Hopefully, this political comic can pierce the tough hide of
man’s mind and heart.”
- Edward Asner, Actor

“Addicted to War is a tremendous tool that could change the course of our nation. It must be
published in the millions and taught in every school in America.”
- Russell Means, American Indian Patriot

“How can we wean ourselves from our dismal addiction to war? This book is a fine starting
point. Reading it will help people get on the road to recovery.”
- Kathy Kelly, Founder, ‘Voices in the Wilderness’.

“For those who have created a wall in their mind to resist questioning what the powers-that-
be have taught them, this book may be the right battering ram.”
- William Blum, Author of “Killing Hope” and “Rogue State”
 “This is the most important comic book ever written. To be a true patriot (in the American
revolutionary sense) is to understand U.S. foreign policy in all it’s horrific cruelty. It is my hope
that you read this book and pass it along to as many people as you can.”
- Woody Harrelson, Actor

“... must reading for Americans of all ages, who are concerned with understanding the true
nature of U.S. foreign policy and how it affects us.”
- Martin Sheen, Actor

“I have come to the conclusion that if we don’t change from a value system based on the love
of money and power, over to one based on compassion and generosity, we will be extinct this
century. We need a brief earthquake to wake up humanity at every level so that we can reverse
this horror. Addicted to War is such an earthquake.1'
- Patch Adams, Doctor

“As we’re goose-stepping our way into the new millennium, Addicted to War provides us with an opportunity
to see ourselves as others see us.”
- Kris Kristofferson, Singer/ Songwriter

“Once our troops in Iraq, who are risking life and limb, discover what lies beyond the rhetoric of war - the
greed and the unstated agendas -will they feel as I did? Many years ago in Korea, I believed I was serving a
righteous cause. When the reality jarred my assumptions, I first reacted angrily. My honor was offended. Then I
met other ex-military (service-men) who were using their experience - even their anger and grief - to educate
everyone they could to the realities of war. They helped me understand my motives were okay, but the policies I
was asked to support, were not. We banded together to use our experience to help head off future wars through
education. One of our most effective tools is Addicted to War.”
- Wilson (Woody) Powell, Executive Director, Veterans for Peace

“... one point (is) perfectly clear. We can bomb the world to pieces, but we can’t bomb it into peace!
- Michael Franti, Musician, Spearhead

Author’s Preface to the Indian Edition

I wrote and illustrated the first edition of Addicted to War following the first U.S. war against Iraq in 1992.
The people of this country had been shielded from the truth about that and previous wars waged by the United
States. My aim was to present information difficult to find in the mainstream news media (which had been
largely reduced to wartime cheerleaders). I also wanted to explain this country’s extraordinary predilection to
go to war.
Ten years later, events compelled me to update the book. Under the second Bush Administration, the chronic
U. S. addiction to war reached a new level of intensity. The September 11, 2001 attacks provided an opportunity
for George W, Bush to declare a “war on terrorism,” which in practice has turned out to be an endless binge of
war-making.
The second edition of Addicted to War was published in early 2002, following the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan.
The Bush Administration then turned to preparing for a new war against Iraq. A thin rhetorical veneer about
combating terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction hardly concealed its underlying war
aims: to impose a new U.S. client regime in the Middle East and assure control over a country that has the second
largest known oil reserves in the world.
As this Indian edition goes to press, the U.S. military is occupying both Afghanistan and Iraq. In an effort to
quell armed resistance, it is taking increasingly harsh punitive measures against the civilian population of both
countries, inspiring fear and indignation. This is feeding a bitter spiral of violence that has repercussions around
the world, and within the U.S. itself
The domestic costs of this growing addiction to war are now being felt more acutely in the United States.
Soldiers and their families are paying the heaviest price, but everyone is affected. Skyrocketing military spending
is contributing to huge government deficits, which are causing a new round of sharp cuts in domestic programs,
including education, medical care, housing, public transportation, and environmental protection. At the same
time, the “war on terrorism” is being used as an excuse to step up police surveillance, eroding our civil liberties.
The bellicose path followed by the United States has placed all people around the world in greater danger,
and this danger can be felt palpably in India and other countries of South Asia. Far from reducing terrorism and
the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, present U.S. policies are aggravating both.
On the one hand, the two unstable U.S. occupation regimes in the heart of the Muslim world - together with
U.S. support for the Israeli occupation of Palestine - continue to fuel violence. On the other hand, the persisting
development of nuclear weapons by the United States, (despite the collapse of its erstwhile Soviet adversary),
and its snubbing of treaties that banned nuclear testing and the development of anti-ballistic missile systems,
have spurred other countries to follow suit. As a result of both trends, an ominous pall of war - and possible
nuclear holocaust - hangs over the Indian subcontinent today. Indeed, no region on earth is safe.
While Addicted to War was originally written for American readers, people in India will also have reason to
read it. There are all too many, not only in the United States but also around the world, who have had little
opportunity to learn about the bloody and inglorious history recounted in these pages. This book also explains
how America’s addiction to war harms the common people in the United States, even while it provides great
wealth for others.
I imagine that in India and other countries, the United States must seem like a monolithic bully with a largely
quiescent and complicit population. But we also have a strong tradition of opposing militarism, and this tradition
is being rejuvenated in a vibrant anti-war movement today. This book shares part of the efforts we in the United
States are making to stay the hand of the militarists in Washington. I hope its publication in India will help
facilitate the linking of anti-war efforts by people in both countries as one step in building wider collaboration
around the world - as equals -to bring about a saner future. In the end, we are all ‘in the same boat,’
So many people have contributed to the creation of this book that it is impossible to thank them all here.
Instead, I will mention only three: My mother, Carol Andreas, who introduced me to anti-war activities; my
father, Carl Andreas, who originally encouraged me to write the book; and Frank Dorrel, whose tireless promotion
made a new post-9-11 edition both possible and irresistible.
I would also like to thank Bharat and Vinita Mansata of Earthcare Books for taking the initiative to bring out
this Indian edition of Addicted to War.
Joel Andreas
Baltimore, Maryland, USA
December 2003
 Indian Publisher’s Foreword
Big problems numb the mind and dwarf the imagination. But by refusing to look at them, they don’t go away.
Joel Andreas has taken up a daunting subject and brilliantly presented it in a concise, forthright and lucid manner,
such that even a teenager is able to read through and comprehend!
In our times, resistance and creativity must walk hand in hand. No tranquil corner is insulated from the rapid,
unsettling pace of events invading our lives. The surfeit of institutional madness around us cannot go unchallenged.
But only resistance can be emotionally exhausting. All of us need something to look forward to, some inspiration
to sustain our energy, and innovative ideas to keep our hope alive. Our creativity faces an awesome challenge, as
never before, to transcend our alarming predicament, and aspire to nurture a more enlightened world to pass on
to our children, and their children...
The advance of human civilization, and of each individual, is often a self-fulfilling prophecy. What we
believe possible, tends to become possible. Evolution is this incredible movement of surmounting the dysfunctional
and shaping the new to higher and wider possibilities.
Gandhi drew inspiration from the great American, Henry David Thoreau, and his essay on ‘Civil Disobedience’,
to launch in India Satyagraha, a broad based people’s resistance in defense of truth and justice. Many years
earlier, in the U.S., Thoreau was arrested when he refused to pay his ‘war taxes’ in protest against U.S. invasion
and annexation of huge chunks of Mexican territory. Ralph Waldo Emerson, the well-known American poet,
visited Thoreau in prison, and jokingly asked: “What are you doing in there?” Thoreau replied, “What are you
doing out there?”
Someday, and it is urgent, we should look forward to (and work towards) a new, deeply fraternal theme in our
human adventure. May this culminate in a fresh chapter of civilization, one that would provide a befitting, new
conclusion to this book, ‘Free from War1, or ‘How the U.S. and the World Kicked Militarism’.
Yes, our problems are overbearingly huge, and we do need a miracle. But all of creation is infused with the
miraculous. Each flower that blossoms, and every child born into this world, is a reassurance of some unseen -
but so well organized - divine power, that it has not abdicated our earth, or lost hope in humanity.
It’s high time now for many, many more of us to put on our thinking caps, thirst humbly for that creative
inspiration, and plunge deeper into our new, more authentic and satisfying act.

About Earthcare Books:

We are a publisher and distributor of books focusing on environmental issues, justice and an alternative path
of progress in harmony with nature and fellow humans. We believe that an understanding of our problems and
their roots must be supplemented with a vision of what needs to be done, or is being done.
Besides critiques of destructive ‘development’, some of the areas we emphasize are;
• care of our natural wealth (soil, water, forests, biodiversity)
• ecological agriculture, natural/organic farming and traditional systems
• indigenous and other appropriate technologies
• non-formal education with a vision
• natural health and healing
• alternative lifestyles, cultures and world-views
For our detailed catalogue, write to:Earthcare Books, 10 Middleton Street, Calcutta 700 071,
India
Phone:91-33-22296551
E-mail: [email protected]
 Bharat Mansata

Note on the U.S. and Translated Editions Photograph and Drawing Credits
I first read the original 1992 edition of Addicted to War three years ago. My immediate response was to buy
100 copies. That’s how good I thought it was. Then I learned it was out of print. I located the author, Joel
Andreas, and convinced him to update the book. In April 2002, I published a new edition with the help of AK
Press. The response has been tremendous. Since then, nearly 100,000 copies have been distributed in the United
States,
In the U.S., Addicted to War is being used as a textbook by many high school and college teachers. Peace
organizations are selling the book at anti-war rallies, teach-ins, and smaller events. It is showing up in schools,
churches, and public libraries. More and more bookstores are carrying it, including progressive independents,
national chains, and comic book stores. Individuals are ordering multiple copies to give to friends, co-workers,
and relatives. I have received thousands of calls, email messages, and letters from people telling me how much
they love this book!
There are also plans to make an animated documentary film, a radio play and a stage production, based on the
book. A Japanese translation of Addicted to War has sold over 70,000 copies and editions in Korean, German,
Spanish, Thai, Danish and other languages have been published, or are in the works. If you are interested in
publishing Addicted to War in another language, please contact me at:
Frank Dorrel
P.O. Box 3261
Culver City, CA 90231-3261, USA
310-838-8131
[email protected]
www. addictedtowar. com
December 2003

A concise history... forthright, lucid, potent!

“Addicted to War is a witty and devastating portrait of U.S. military policy...”
- Howard Zinn, author of A Peoples History of the United States

“As a veteran of three wars, World War II through Vietnam, with 33 years of Army service, I find this book
the most truthful recitation of our government’s policies available anywhere”
- Col. James Burkholder, US. Army, Retired
“The enormous criminal impact of U.S. militarism ... is hard to grasp. This book makes it easier to understand^
Now we must ACT.”
- Ramsey Clark, former Attorney General of the U. S., and author of The Fire This Time

“The U.S., with 4.5% of the world’s population, arrogantly plunders the worlds resources and cultures to
support its American way of life. (This book) illustrates why the U.S. is necessarily dependent on war to feed its
shameful consumption patterns “
- S. Brian Willson, Vietnam veteran and anti-war activist
 “Bitterly amusing, lively and richly informative. For people of all ages, who want to understand the link
between U.S. militarism, foreign policy, and corporate greed at home and abroad. Political comics at its best.”
- Michael Parenti, author of History as Mystery and Kill a Nation

“Addicted to War should be required reading for every student... to help understand the consequences of U.S.
militarism for people here and around the world “
- Rev. J.M. Lawson, colleague of Martin Luther King Jr. from 1957 to 1968