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Barack Obama won the presidency and the hearts of billions around the world by pledging to bring peace. His humanitarian rhetoric promised a new era in American foreign policy, away form armed confrontation and towards cooperation. But since taking office he has increased combat forces in Afghanistan, expanded our air strikes in Pakistan, shifted the fighting in Iraq onto hired mercenaries and local soldiers, and pledged his "full support" to the "heroic" CIA. Obama doesn't want to end the war; he wants to fight it smarter, cutting our losses in some areas while stepping up attacks in others, aiming to salvage a partial victory. The new Commander in Chief has scaled down the grandiose goals that launched the war, replacing them with a fallback battle plan for maintaining some control over the Iraqi and Afghan governments, oil supplies, and pipeline routes. The corporate elite backed him because he could calm the waters of discontent and create superficial changes that would allow them to maintain their power. His eloquence and charisma revived hope in America. We want so much to believe him that we overlook that he's still killing thousands of our fellow human beings. Obama is proving to be the ultimate cosmetic change. His performance is another American triumph of image over actuality. As disappointment turns to despair, peace activists are seeking new ways to confront state power and stop this killing machine. We've moved beyond demonstrations and petitions into direct action, defying the government's laws and impeding its capacity to wage war. Radical Peace: People Refusing War portrays these efforts. Telling the first-person experiences of war resisters, deserters, and peace activists from the USA, Europe, Iraq, and Afghanistan, it's a journey along diverse paths of nonviolence, the true stories of people working for peace in unconventional ways. Book jacket.