Former Washington Post reporter Molly Sinclair McCartney visited campus last week to discuss her late husband’s book, “America’s War Machine: Vested Interest, Endless Conflicts,” an investigation into the true motives behind the United States’ military involvement in foreign countries.

The book, originally begun by her late husband James McCartney, is the culmination of decades of his reporting on national security for a chain of more 30 papers including The Miami Herald. Finished by his wife, Molly McCartney has been traveling around the country providing insight on exactly why the U.S. sends troops to foreign territory.

On March 31, Molly McCartney sat with students at a luncheon and gave a formal lecture that evening bringing to light truths about the government’s military spending that she said her husband had known about for years.

“The book is fact based,” Molly McCartney said. “It is about the wrongdoings and the absurd amount of money being spent on wars, but the statistics and history speak for themselves.”

Although the concept of the book sounds anarchic, the examples presented range from post-Civil War propaganda to events that happened in the past decade.

“I remember we were all watching the TV when Colin Powell, then secretary of state, said that we had to go to Iraq and take out Hussein because he had, in their possession, nuclear weapons,” Molly McCartney said. “After he made that speech, James turned the TV off and said right out that that was a load of bull.  They had nothing but a picture of a building with no idea what’s in it, and Powell lied to our faces, much to his ever-lasting shame.”

“America’s War Machine” highlights the exorbitant amount of money dedicated to the military, and tracks down military spending since the establishment of a national budget.  The world the book revolves around is intricate, tangled in the details of politics, but Molly McCartney said the book was meant to pull it apart.

“You take these very complicated issues and you try to break it down,” she said. “What is it? How does it work? How is it dangerous and how much is it going to cost? The military budget affects everyone, and each year we have increased our spending.  James really knew how to explain it to his readers.”

Evidence of Dick Cheney’s profit from military spending, doctored satellite photographs showing tanks pointed at Saudi Arabia and propaganda run by military generals in order to force President Obama to increase the number of troops in Afghanistan are not only included in the book, they are included in the first chapter.  “America’s War Machine” goes deep and is a necessary read for citizens wanting to learn more about the country’s involvement in foreign countries.

Molly McCartney said the overall problem is  “critical thinking.”

“If your mother tells you she loves you, check the source,” she said.  “Every statistic in the book can be found on the Internet. It just takes a want to find out what your government is doing and what it’s getting away with.”

The McCartneys’ book is available on Amazon and most online bookstores.

Mike Vasquez may be reached at [email protected].