The High Cost of Peace: How Washington's Middle East Policy Left America Vulnerable to Terrorism

by Yossef Bodansky and Jim Saxton

Book Overview

Since the Gulf War, three U.S. administrations have tried desperately to negotiate peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians. Crafted through a series of policy missteps, the tenuous accords have done little except leave Israel compromised and vulnerable while drawing the ire of militant Islamists--culminating in the catastrophic show of force against the West via terrorist attacks on American soil and renewed violence in the West Bank and elsewhere in the Middle East. In The High Cost of Peace, terrorism expert Yossef Bodansky uncovers the bitter legacy of a peace process that has cost tens of thousands of lives, emboldened such outlaw countries as Iran and Iraq, enriched Arab militaries with billions of U.S. dollars, and mobilized an underground network of terror cells around the globe. He reveals in engrossing detail the political undercurrents and secret deals that have shaped and destabilized the region, the confluence of events leading up to September 11, and the inside story of a dangerous quest for peace that has led to a war unlike any the Middle East has seen before--the details of which rarely make the anti-Israeli-tinged evening news. You will discover: *Why Arafat said in 1972 of the Palestinian aggression against Israel, "Peace for us means the destruction of Israel and nothing else" *How President Clinton's zeal for peace was motivated by his desire to divert national attention away from his domestic scandals, and why his administration completely ignored the growing threat of militant Islamism *What secret preparations and military build-up Saddam Hussein ordered for the next war with, and terrorist strikes against, the United States and Israel *And many more shocking revelations At the heart of the failed peace negotiations is the utopian notion that Israel's militant enemies even want peace. This book proves once and for all how the United States is put in perpetual danger of terrorist attack because of its repeated blunders in dealing with the Arab world and the vital contributions of Israel--America's staunchest ally in this turbulent region--to U.S. security interests. Meanwhile, as many Arab leaders play to American and European news cameras with empty promises of peace, they are secretly conspiring with terrorists to fulfill their ultimate goal: the complete annihilation of the Israeli state.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0761535799
• ISBN13: 9780761535799
• Release Date: June 2002
• Publisher: Prima Forum
• Length: 652 Pages
• Weight: 2.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 2.0" x 6.4" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Lighting up a dark world

As if someone lit a lightbulb in a darkened world was the effect upon me of Bodansky's new book "The High Cost of Peace."I feel confident in saying that I represent the many people who walk away confused at the conflicting and difficult news we read daily and yet has that aura of uncertainty surrounding it. Bodansky clears away the fog of confusion and replaces it with a clear and cogent view of events that in his clarity of style explains the details and brings them together in a meaningful and authenticated fashion.For example, the mystery of the Camp David Accords are explained, the first time to my knowledge, and the participants come to life with all their imperfections.It was Oliver Cromwell who said, "Paint me with all my Pimples," and Bodansky uses his objective eye to do that exactly with all these players in a global drama that foreshadow Armegeddon if we don't tred lightly and carry a strong stick. We owe Bodansky a debt of gratitude for his effort.

A Must Read for Every American

I've read thousands of books on the Middle East ... from every possible ideological perspective. This masterpiece by Bodansky is, far and away, the most thoughtful, analytical, and on-point to date. As Americans, we are duty bound to protect democracy and guard our freedoms. Bodansky helps us do just that by empowering us with the facts on the Middle East. Murray Kahl describes this book as a "home run" ... to which I reply NO ... it is a grand slam in the bottom of the ninth with two outs ... which is exactly where the U.S. finds itself as we confront the problems in Iraq. Kudos Mr. Bodansky ... thank you for your great service to your readers and to the United States.

Bodansky is unusually good

As an Lebanese expatriate, I was deeply impressed at the depth of knowledge and detail displayed by Bodansky in this wonderful book. To understand why Lebanon is the key to peace in the Middle East, one must be aware of the many regional dynamics that involve Syria, Iraq, Iran, and Lebanon, in their attempt to impose a new anti-West, Islamic empire for the region and one that displaces Israel as a participant in the Levant.These issues are salient and necessary to understand the debates raging today in the United Nations and the United States Congress as to a possible war with Iraq. Bodansky's knowledge and writing skills foreshadowed these existential events perfectly and will certainly provoke a reaction from the participants in this political drama as well as from all the readers who will find this book a necessary primer of in-depth Middle East politics, strategy, and tactics.Bodansky has the uncanny ability to explore these issues in detail while concisely examining other topics of the Middle East, as well as their relationship with Washington politics, and separating substance from political expediency. No one walks away unscathed.Nagi N. NajjarExecutive DirectorLebanese Foundation for Peace

'Peace At Any Price ?'

When I first pre-ordered this book before it's publication, the title was quoted as "The seduction of Israel : how Clinton's peace process has brought the Middle East to the brink of destruction".Of course since then, world events have overtaken us. One is now left to wonder whether the new title `The High Cost Of Peace' should instead be `Peace At Any Price?'.Bodansky reveals in some detail what in fact has been going on behind the scenes pertaining to the US involvement in Middle East politics and the so-called `peace process'. The intent of Yasser Arafat and the Arab world in relation to a negotiated `peace' settlement with Israel having been exposed for what it really is when Arafat walked away from the negotiating table, leaving former US President Clinton and former Israeli PM Ehud Barak together with the most extensive peace offering ever presented to the Palestinians, for Arafat to resume his pursuit of terrorism, violence and murder.The author delves into the complicity of the Arab world in much of the terrorism against Israel, for which the very same Arab nations then proceed to instigate UN Resolutions against Israel for taking subsequent military measures in self defence.He examines the `phased plan' of the Islamic world to destroy Israel. A plan that much of the world appears ignorant of, but the basis of which is to obtain as much territory as possible at the negotiating table, and then to proceed in using that very same territory as a platform from which to launch fresh attacks upon the Jewish state until the ultimate objective is attainable.The High Cost Of Peace provides a refreshing factual account of US-Middle East politics instead of what is usually reported in the media where established historical facts are filtered through chosen political channels, setting the agenda on which the issues are subsequently discussed. A process which has seen Israel being robbed of its political, historic and geographic legitimacy, whilst Israel is being made to appear to rob the Palestinians of the nation it never had.Yossef Bodansky explores the naivety of both US and Israeli politicians in their dealings with the Arab world, the evidence supporting Yasser Arafat's personal involvement in terrorism during the `peace negotiations' and the clear intent of former US President Clinton in using the `peace process' to divert attention from his own political/personal scandals at home.Of course, at the core of the whole political issue, is the matter of Jerusalem. One cannot help drawing a parallel from Bodansky's revelations of the cost that the US must pay for it's involvement in the `peace process' to the words of the Old Testament prophet Zechariah written some 2,500 years ago."Thus says the LORD "Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling to all the surrounding peoples, when they lay siege against Judah and Jerusalem. And it shall happen in that day that I will make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all peoples; all who would heave it away

Another home run!

Displaying his multiple talents as a word smith and an accomplished political analyst, Bodansky again stitches together a tapestry of political revelations and historical documentation that results in clearly revealing the inner workings of the radical, Islamic mind that threatens the stability and future of Western style democracies.There are no sacred icons when Bodansky starts his exploration and he enthralls the reader with a common journey into the darkness of radical Islam, a journey of discovery that involves the reader with personal insights, personal discoveries, and personal intuition, that reveals even more of this ubiquitous enemy.All venues are explored in depth, including the political structure in the United States that allowed temporal priorities to take precedence over issues of existential import and myopically ignore the future. Yet, this appears to be the scenario played out by the Clinton Administration as they assumed control, actually over most of the world, in 1992. Bodansky's analysis for the security of the West is a must read as we all face the threat of Islamic radicalism that threatens to destroy the fabric of our society and requiring a new and meaningful rubric to deal with this unprecedented threat.