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The following article is an try to compare two former presidents of United States according to their alien policy. The chosen presidents in this study are George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton, a republican president vs. democratic one. The reasoning for choosing these persons is that they navigated the American alien policy ship in an era known to most scholars as, the post old war era, which started by the fall of Berlin wall and lasted until terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001 or 9/11 in the American vernacular. It is a known fact that “US occupies a distinguishable position in the world affairs, never in the history has a country overshadowed the global scene to the extent that the US does today. No matter what the indicator- military power, economic strength, political influence, technical prowess, cultural model- the US is in the league of it is own. It is the only nation on world competent to project a power in each portion of the word, and since 1990 it has been involved in resolving conflicts on each continent. As former secretary of state, Malden Albright stated in 1996″ the US is the necessary nation whose work never stops”. There are, however, very dissimilar effigy of this “indispensable nation” around the world, ranging from wonderment ton jealousy and hatred.” President George H. W. Bush George H. W. Bush’s attitude toward alien policy was very influenced by his career background. He came to office with an splendid pedigree in alien affairs, having been a former envoy to china and the UN as well as conductor of the CIA, made him an expert in the field of alien policy. And it was due to this highly ornamental background, bush’s self-confidence and interest in alien affairs that he seldom consult his advisors for approach-making for US alien agenda, it was him who made the conclusions and advisors were there only to consult, how to fulfill the decisions. George Bush assumes a mission for himself in confronting the global affairs, and in addition to this the end of the cold war era forced him to focus more on the alien policy as a result He introduced “new world order” through which he tried to stabilize the distinctive position of merged state in a uni-polar world; Operation Desert Storm or the initial Gulf War was an undertake to keep this order, altho Bush’s special line of work in alien relation helped him to gain widest global aid for his war with Iraq, it was not so helpful to reelect him in the 1992 election while he was under attack by his democratic rival, Bill Clinton, for spending too much time on alien policy. “The sudden collapse of communism and the swift success of “Operation Desert Storm” raised a number of questions in regards to America’s post cold war role. Would the US be more than willing to carry on playing the role of the world cop or sheriff? If so would it proceed to adopt a selective approach? What will have to be the criteria for intervention? Who would foot the bill? Surprisingly there was little real debate amongst the alien and security policy elite as to what role the US ought to play and whether the massive resourses devoted to external affairs must be reduced. In 1991-2 Bush supported by a powerful coalition of entrenched bureaucratic interests, arms makers and a congress reluctant to receive military Base closure, rejected calls for substantial cut in the defense budget. Indeed the pentagon , in a widely known and esteemed leaked report of 1992 entitled defense policy road map and drafted by Paul Wolfowitz argued that the US ought to do everything possible to maintain it is sole superpower status and prevent the emergence of rival territorial or international power.” President Bill Clinton As a former governor (like Carter, Reagan, and George Bush) William Jefferson Clinton, the primary veritably post cold war president was largely novice in alien policy when he took office in January 1993. As he promised in his crusade speeches, Clinton gave more priority to domestic issues, and in order to keep alien policy away from his desk, he appointed Anthony Lake as his national consultant and Warren Christopher as secretary of state. Some scholars believe that even though Clinton sniped at the republican for failing to do more in humane right front I china and Balkans, in reality there were no major alien policy divergences amid Clinton and bush, while there are others like one public relation adviser, who served both republican and democratic presidents, approximated that Clinton spend 25 percent of his time on alien affairs, not similar to bush who had spend 75 percent of his time on alien policy. Clinton’s basi years in office were so entangled with domestic issues that his alien policy was also based on that. For example his area of interest in alien affairs was economy, in which he tried to heighten the economic role of us in world. The challenges finally pushed Clinton away from the domestic and forced him to play a more active role in international affairs. Most helpful customer reviews 79 of 97 people found the following review helpful. The “Psychlos” are bumbling alien psychotics, so intent on guile and treachery they can’t even grab a goo-food stick without provoking a knock down, drag out fight. Through sheer luck, they’ve stumbled upon technologies which empower them to rule most of the know universes (all 16 of them). The ponderous, overwhelming Psychlo bureaucracy, replete with the cruelest and pettiest, middle level paper pushers imaginable, sets up the perfect “evil empire” that Johnny Good Boy Tyler defeats at every turn, overcoming incredible odds and triumphing over treachery with intelligence, bravery, and unbelievable luck. The almost stereo-typical conflicts in the book are a basis for it’s humor and entertainment value, given the author’s talent for creating conflicts of epic, even galactic, proportions.
Although I normally read more intellectualy structured fiction, Hubbard somehow has the knack of creating an entertaining story that is fun to read despite it’s intentionally low-brow approach. If you like funny, adventure/sci-fi, you will probably like this book a lot.
I liked this book more than the Hubbard “Dekaology”. Battlefield Earth is pretty long, but generally holds my interest throughout. It’s almost like (2) books, with an initial phase related just to earth, and a final phase, involving the 16 known universes. The Dekalogy in contrast had a lot of underlying bitterness, and was REALLY long, perhaps because Hubbard was near the end of his life, and his goal was to write the longest sci-fi book, not necessarily the best.
I can think of many “serious” sci-fi authors I prefer to L. Ron Hubbard, but I’m hard pressed to think of one who is more entertaining. I look at Battlefield Earth as equal parts Douglas Adams, Tom Swift, and Asimov. Hubbard is from the same generation of classic sci-fi authors as Heinlin, Clark, Asimov, et. al., but in Battlefield Earth, employs a more humorous and easy-going style, without the dated idealism and self-importance found in many older sci-fi classics. 104 of 135 people found the following review helpful. “Lovable characters, hatable baddies. You always know what to think of a character.” “The villains are really horrible – no bones about it. You just want to watch the hero wipe ‘em all out, with no second thoughts. These elements are really pretty fairy-tale-ish. Most modern-day books don’t have such black-and-white heroes and villains, and I found it a refreshing change.” “[...]it is not what ud call ground breaking[...]“ “It isn’t very deep and is not meant to be.” “I noticed on some of the other reviews critism about a ‘juvenile’ writing style: I beg to differ – I find it’s refreshing! I am as literate as anyone but when I read a story I like to read a story, not a jumble of often extraneous words or ponderous thoughts.” “Hubbard writes at an average 15 year-old reading level, which makes it slightly awkward, but the feeling of the novel can reach out to any aged reader. There are subtle points in the novel that are a little hard to notice and are quite ridiculous.[...]The story drags on a little long and you can get bored with it rather quickly if you’re not interested in sci-fi before you read it.” “Granted the names of the characters and most of the events are absolutely ludicrous but Hubbard wrote it like that intentionally. It’s a wonderful pulp sci-fi satire. And to those of you who think it’s too far-fetched, it’s sci-FICTION for god’s sake.” “Admittedly, the science in this book is very weak. If you come to this book looking for a world that could actually happen… look somewhere else, you won’t find it here.[...]If you are looking for a serious story, the light, cheesy narrative might turn you off.” “…the last 100 or so pages are not needed…who cares if its entirely impossible…since when does a FICTION novel have to be possible[...]“ “Don’t read this looking for great literature.” “I actually like the hit on psychology at the end. It’s a fake science at best!” “i understand the bad reviews, you need to approach it with a tongue-in-check attitude.” “That said, there are some things about it that may turn off some people. Namely, some of the things in the book are incredibly cheesy.[...]Also, there are some rather poor stereotypes in this book.” “I thought that I would get tired of the cheesiness of some of the things in the book, like the names of things (Johnny Goodboy Tyler, the Basher Bash Your Way to Glory Battle Tank, etc.), but somehow it just didn’t stop being fun. The only thing I disliked were a few minor plot holes.” “Some of the phrasing is a little odd, I get a sense that Hubbard was fumbling a bit as he tried to tell the story, and a few of the scientific issues I find somewhat suspect, but it’s still a good read though quite long.” “Yes, it istrue that this book relies on rather tired cliches, (Johnny Tyler is good, the aliens are bad, aliens lose, humans triumph, etc.)[...]It won’t change the way you like at the world, or even give you a deep emotional connection to the characters[...]“ “It is not a book if you want rich character development or profound social messages.” “It’s definitely a ‘guy’ book, though, not as unisex as Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings[...]“ “Read it for the sci-fi, not for any inner enlightenment as it’s not there.” “Somewhere in my literary education I was imbued with a prejudice against ‘popular literature,’ and was taught to ‘appreciate’ the classics – Homer, Chaucer, Shakespeare, Cervantes, Jane Austen, Tolstoy, Balzac, Conrad, Henry James, James Joyce and so on.[...]And then I found and read Battlefield Earth! Oh, my goodness! I had to rethink my whole education![...]Here was a book that defied all my precepts of literature!” “…yes, it defies ‘proper’ writting. Just because it’s different doesn’t make it bad.[...]To say the least, this book is unlike any novel you have ever read. Just because the book isn’t full of useless literary techniques, and other things only English teachers would find, doesn’t mean it’s not good.” “[...]it’s not the deepest Sci-Fi ever (Or even close)[...]“ “While there are many plot holes through the book and many inconsistencies in character development, including poor writing in parts, predictability of certain situations, etc. it is nonetheless a great read[...]“ “Although I normally read more intellectualy structured fiction, Hubbard somehow has the knack of creating an entertaining story that is fun to read despite it’s intentionally low-brow approach.” “This book was not meant to be a ‘deep’ sci-fi novel like Asimov’s and others.” “Its simplicity makes it intense.” “Who cares if he doesn’t have verb agreement? Just read the books and enjoy them, stop dissecting them.” “Battlefield Earth isn’t too subtle, and if you like your sci-fi ‘deep’ you might be a little turned off by BE.” “A no brainer to read.” These only represent the serious 5-star reviews, not the joke ones like: “One of the most enlightening books I have read since Al Gore’s Earth in the Balance. The movie is even better only Waterboy was more insightful.” (I’d also like to note the suspicious similarities between many of the five-star reviews, especially the early ones, usually short, written anonymously. Many compare the villain, Terl, to Darth Vader saying “Terl makes Darth Vader look like (fill in the blank).” No conspiracy theorist here, just saying…) What I think you’ll notice is that the 1-star and 5-star reviewers tend to agree on the basics: shallow characters, unbelievable plot, weak science, etc. It’s just that one group cares about that sort of thing and the other does not. I know what camp I’m in; you decide where you stand. 16 of 20 people found the following review helpful. |
Very entertaining, a real page turner
A Review of Reviews