Who Defended the Country

Boston, MA: Beacon Press, 2003. First Edition. First Printing. Wraps. very good. 113 pages. Wraps, notes, slight wear and soiling to covers. Signed by the author. A New Democracy Forum on Citizenship, National Security and 9/11. Through a minute-by-minute analysis of the phone calls, official reports, responses, and reported actions of passengers on two hijacked flights, United Airlines 93 (which crashed in Pennsylvania) and American Airlines 77(which crashed into the Pentagon), Elaine Scarry offers a dramatic retelling of their fate and some startling conclusions. Leading off a provocative debate, she asks if the difficulty we had as a country in defending ourselves on September 11 suggests serious flaws in our national security. She also asks whether our authoritarian conception of national defense diminishes our capacity to protect ourselves. Responding to her argument are nine prominent thinkers and writers from across the political spectrum, including Fichard Falk, Ellen Willis, Admiral Eurgene Carroll, and Antonia Chayes.