(9) John J. Mearsheimer & Stephen M. Walt, "The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy"
Farrar, Straus and Giroux | ISBN: 0374177724 | 2007 | 496 pages | PDF | 13.1 MB
The Israel Lobby,” by John J. Mearsheimer of the University of Chicago and Stephen M. Walt of Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, was one of the most controversial articles in recent memory. Originally published in the London Review of Books in March 2006, it provoked both howls of outrage and cheers of gratitude for challenging what had been a taboo issue in America: the impact of the Israel lobby on U.S. foreign policy.
Now in a work of major importance, Mearsheimer and Walt deepen and expand their argument and confront recent developments in Lebanon and Iran. They describe the remarkable level of material and diplomatic support that the United States provides to Israel and argues that this support cannot be fully explained on either strategic or moral grounds. This exceptional relationship is due largely to the political influence of a loose coalition of individuals and organizations that actively work to shape U.S. foreign policy in a pro-Israel direction. Mearsheimer and Walt provocatively contend that the lobby has a far-reaching impact on America’s posture throughout the Middle East—in Iraq, Iran, Lebanon, and toward the Israeli-Palestinian conflict—and the policies it has encouraged are in neither America’s national interest nor Israel’s long-term interest. The lobby’s influence also affects America’s relationship with important allies and increases dangers that all states face from global jihadist terror.
Writing in The New York Review of Books, Michael Massing declared, “Not since Foreign Affairs magazine published Samuel Huntington’s ‘The Clash of Civilizations?’ in 1993 has an academic essay detonated with such force.” The publication of The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy is certain to widen the debate and to be one of the most talked-about books of the year.
From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Expanding on their notorious 2006 article in the London Review of Books, the authors increase the megatonnage of their explosive claims about the malign influence of the pro-Israel lobby on the U.S. government. Mearsheimer and Walt, political scientists at the University of Chicago and Harvard, respectively, survey a wide coalition of pro-Israel groups and individuals, including American Jewish organizations and political donors, Christian fundamentalists, neo-con officials in the executive branch, media pundits who smear critics of Israel as anti-Semites and the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee, which they characterize as having an almost unchallenged hold on Congress.
This lobby, they contend, has pressured the U.S. government into Middle East policies that are strategically and morally unjustifiable: lavish financial subsidies for Israel despite its occupation of Palestinian territories; needless American confrontations with Israel's foes Syria and Iran; uncritical support of Israel's 2006 bombing of Lebanon, which violated the laws of war; and the Iraq war, which almost certainly would not have occurred had [the Israel lobby] been absent. The authors disavow conspiracy mongering, noting that the lobby's activities constitute legitimate, if misguided, interest-group politics, as American as apple pie. Considering the authors' academic credentials and the careful reasoning and meticulous documentation with which they support their claims, the book is bound to rekindle the controversy.
Contents
Part I: The United States, Israel, and the Lobby
1 The Great Benefactor
2 Israel: Strategic Asset or Liability?
3 A Dwindling Moral Case
4 What Is the "Israel Lobby"?
5 Guiding the Policy Process
6 Dominating Public Discourse
Part II: The Lobby in Action
Introduction to Part II
7 The Lobby Versus the Palestinians
8 Iraq and Dreams of Transforming the Middle East
9 Taking Aim at Syria
10 Iran in the Crosshairs
11 The Lobby and the Second Lebanon War
Conclusion: What Is to Be Done?
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(10) Mario Liverani, "Israel's History and the History of Israel" (BibleWorld)
Equinox Publishing Ltd (2007) | English | ISBN: 1845533410 | 450 pages | PDF | 11.6 MB
One of Italy's foremost experts on antiquity addresses a new issue surrounding the birth of Israel and its historic reality. Many a tale has been told of ancient Israel, but all tales are alike in their quotation of the biblical story in its narrative scheme, despite its historic unreliability. This book completely rewrites the history of Israel through the evaluation of textual and literary critiques as well as archaeological and epigraphic findings. Conceived along the lines of modern historical methodology, it traces the textual material to the times of its creation, reconstructs the temporal evolution of political and religious ideologies, and firmly inserts the history of Israel into its ancient-oriental context.
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(11) Beyond Oslo, The Struggle for Palestine: Inside the Middle East Peace Process from Rabin's Death to Camp David By Ahmed Qurie
Publisher: I. B. Tauris | ISBN: 1845119460 | edition 2008 | PDF | 320 pages | 2,7 mb
With new talks in the Middle East Peace Process about to begin, the shadows of previous negotiations fall heavily across all involved. In this powerful and absorbing testimony, one of leading figures of the Oslo talks, former Prime Minister Ahmed Qurie (‘Abu Ala’) takes us behind closed doors and inside the negotiating rooms of Wye River, Stockholm and Camp David, where the terms of peace and a Palestinian state were sketched out, argued over, and eventually lost. Larger than life figures emerge from the minutes of these dramatic meetings-- released here for the first time. Qurie recounts both the Israelis’ intractability and the dynamic inside the Palestinian camp with candor and insight. This indispensable first-hand account provides a completely new perspective on the history, issues and personalities that will determine the future of the Middle East.
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(12) Political Islam: Essays from Middle East Report (Merip Reader) By Joel Beinin, Joe Stork Publisher: University of California Press 1996 | 383 Pages | ISBN: 0520204484 | PDF | 1.7 MB
The essays and case studies collected here--featuring some of the best material from Middle East Report over the past decade as well as much original material--challenge the facile generalizations about what Western media and political establishments usually call "Islamic fundamentalism." The authors demonstrate the complexity of these movements and offer complementary and contrasting interpretations of their origins and significance. The material included covers a broad range of themes--including democracy and civil society, gender relations and popular culture--as they have emerged in countries throughout the Middle East and North Africa.
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(13) Camron Amin, Benjamin C. Fortna, Elizabeth B. Frierson "The Modern Middle East: A Sourcebook "Oxford University Press | 2006-05-12 | ISBN: 0199262098 | 704 pages | PDF | 5 MB
The Modern Middle East is a collection of translated sources covering the period from 1700 to the present. Sources include official and private archives, the periodical press, memoirs, western journalists' and travellers' accounts, literature, and official reports (including statistical data). Each document has been prefaced, translated and annotated by a specialist in the particular history and culture from which it was drawn. Enough information is provided so that every student can appreciate the value of a document and begin a further exploration either of its specific historical context or its relationship to broader themes in modern Middle Eastern history, whilst scholars will find it of value for its use in teaching and discussion. Themes covered include the expansion of state power, changing gender roles, religious revival, nationalist mobilization, increasing participation in a wider global culture and economy, and the redefinition of traditions and identities.
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(14) Dietrich Jung - The Middle East and Palestine: Global Politics and Regional Conflict Palgrave Macmillan | 2004 | ISBN: 1403964149 | Pages: 256 | PDF | 5.37 MB
Taking issue with the convenient views that the Middle East is an irrational and exceptional region of world politics and that the long and bloody history of the Palestine conflict is proof, the authors of this stimulating collection combine theoretical reflection and empirical investigation, marrying International Relations theory and Middle East studies. Through integrating macro- and micro-perspectives, tracing the interaction of global and regional environments with individuals pursuing political goals, this book rejects the cultural stereotype of "Middle Eastern exceptionalism" and argues that regional patterns of conflict are deeply embedded in international and transnational relations and that their particular trajectories have to be interpreted in the light of global political developments.
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(15) David Seddon “A Political and Economic Dictionary of the Middle East"
Routledge | 2004-12-16 | ISBN: 1857432126 | 320 pages | PDF | 2,92 MB
A definitive guide to the economics and politics of the Middle East.
This title provides clear definitions detailing terms, concepts, names and organizations used in relation to current economic or political affairs in the Middle East. Entries define, explain and give further relevant information on countries, regions, ethnic groups, political parties, organizations, policies and disputes.
Definitions include:
* Abu Jahid
* Baath Party
* Balfour Declaration
* The Camp David Agreement
* Golan Heights
* Hawal
* Kurdistan
* The Polisario Front
* Sharon
* Zionism
This unique collection of mini essays provides an invaluable background to an area at the forefront of international affairs. Coverage spans the following countries: Afghanistan, Armenia, Bahrain, Cyprus, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kurdistan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Oman, Palestinian Autonomous Areas, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkmenistan, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Yemen.
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(16) Vassilis K. Fouskas, "Zones Of Conflict: US Foreign Policy in the Balkans and the Greater Middle East"
Publisher: Pluto Press | 2003 | ISBN 0745320309 | PDF | 184 pages | 1.7 MB
The US has several major interests in the Balkans, the Greater Middle East and the wide Eurasian zone, which determine its political and military strategies in the region. What are these interests, and what strategies are used to ensure that they are maintained? Examining the balance of power between the US, the EU and key EU states in the region, Vassilis Fouskas offers a critique of US foreign policy and its underlying motivations. He argues that the major US objectives include control over gas and oil producing zones; safe transportation of energy to Western markets at stable prices; and the elimination, but not destruction, of America's Eurasian competitors. He asserts that US foreign policy is therefore driven by the desire to maintain a strategic partnership with key EU states, while preventing the emergence of an alternative coalition in Eurasia capable of challenging US supremacy. Has US foreign policy undergone a dramatic U-turn after the end of the Cold War or, for that matter, after September 11th? This book tackles such questions and argues that the emergence of a social democratic administration in Eurasia is a feasible alternative to American unilateralism.
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(17) Martin Sieff , "The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Middle East"
Regnery Publishing (January 28, 2008) | ISBN-10: 1596980516 | 230 Pages | PDF | 61,2 MB
In this informative, iconoclastic book, veteran foreign correspondent Martin Sieff offers a jaw-dropping survey of the history and politics of a region that people know surprisingly little about--even though it's never off the front pages of the morning papers.
In The Politically Incorrect Guideâ„¢ to the Middle East you'll learn:
Why Islamic fundamentalism isn't ancient--making it more dangerous;
Why the Saudis are part of the solution, not the problem;
Why democracy and a Marshall Plan for the Middle East would only make things worse;
Why Arab-Israeli peace is impossible; and
Why we'll miss the old Arab dictators when they're gone--because the alternative is Islamic fundamentalism
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(18) David Ryan, "Vietnam in Iraq: Lessons, Legacies and Ghosts (Contemporary Security Studies)"
Publisher: Routledge | ISBN: 0415405629 | edition: 2006 | PDF | 240 Pages | 1,5 Mb
The Vietnam War has exerted a considerable influence over US foreign policy, its method of engagement, and its sense of credibility, military tactics and overall strategic initiatives since 1969. The Bush administration's intervention in Iraq 2003 departed significantly from the accumulated lessons acquired since the 1970's. Though Vietnam has been a frequent point of reference in regional conflict, various facets of that war have returned with even more frequency and persistence both within the United States, Iraq and elsewhere. This book aims:
-To examine the impact of the Vietnam analogy on the war in Iraq
-To assess the military tactical lessons that were learned from the Vietnam War
-To examine the broader strategic lessons and the US concern with their credibility in fighting 'ground wars'.
-To examine the influence and persistence of Vietnam's legacy in US politics, culture and diplomacy and its ability to continue to exert influence on Washington's tactics.
-To examine the impact of US foreign policy on both Vietnam and Iraq.
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(19) Getting Ready for a Nuclear-Ready Iran
Not Avail | ISBN 158487211X | 2005-01 | PDF | 314 pages | 1.2 MB
As Iran edges closer to acquiring a nuclear bomb and its missiles extend an ever darker diplomatic shadow over the Middle East and Europe, Iran is likely to pose three threats. First, Iran could dramatically up the price of oil by interfering with the free passage of vessels in and through the Persian Gulf as it did during the l980s or by threatening to use terrorist proxies to target other states oil facilities. Second, it could diminish American influence in the Gulf and Middle East by increasing the pace and scope of terrorist activities against Iraq, Saudi Arabia, other Gulf states, Israel, and other perceived supporters of the United States. Finally, it could become a nuclear proliferation model for the world and its neighbors (including many states that otherwise would be more dependent on the United States for their security) by continuing to insist that it has a right to make nuclear fuel under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and then withdrawing once it decides to get a bomb. To contain and deter Iran from posing such threats, the United States and its friends could take a number of steps: increasing military cooperation (particularly in the naval sphere) to deter Iranian naval interference; reducing the vulnerability of oil facilities in the Gulf outside of Iran to terrorist attacks, building and completing pipelines in the lower Gulf region that would allow most of the non-Iranian oil and gas in the Gulf to be exported without having to transit the Straits of Hormuz; diplomatically isolating Iran by calling for the demilitarization of the Straits and adjacent islands, creating country-neutral rules against Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty state members who are suspected of violating the treaty.
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(20) Guardians of the Revolution: Iran and the World in the Age of the Ayatollahs By Ray Takeyh
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA | ISBN: 0195327845 | edition 2009 | PDF | 328 pages | 1,08 mb
For over a quarter century, Iran has been one of America's chief nemeses. Ever since Ayatollah Khomeini overthrew the Shah in 1979, the relationship between the two nations has been antagonistic: revolutionary guards chanting against the Great Satan, Bush fulminating against the Axis of Evil, Iranian support for Hezbollah, and President Ahmadinejad blaming the U.S. for the world's ills.
The unending war of words suggests an intractable divide between Iran and the West, one that may very well lead to a shooting war in the near future. But as Ray Takeyh shows in this accessible and authoritative history of Iran's relations with the world since the revolution, behind the famous personalities and extremist slogans is a nation that is far more pragmatic--and complex--than many in the West have been led to believe. Takeyh explodes many of our simplistic myths of Iran as an intransigently Islamist foe of the West. Tracing the course of Iranian policy since the 1979 revolution, Takeyh identifies four distinct periods: the revolutionary era of the 1980s, the tempered gradualism following the death of Khomeini and the end of the Iran-Iraq war in 1989, the "reformist" period from 1997-2005 under President Khatami, and the shift toward confrontation and radicalism since the election of President Ahmadinejad in 2005.
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(21) Roger Howard "Iran Oil: The New Middle East Challenge to America"
I. B. Tauris | 2007-01-09 | ISBN: 1845112490 | 272 pages | PDF | 4,3 MB
The US sees itself as being locked into a confrontation with Iran, its number one enemy since the invasion of Saddam Hussein's Iraq. But, as Roger Howard argues in this compelling and provocative new book, by attempting to isolate Iran, the US may in fact be undermining its own power. Furthermore, because of US trade embargoes on Iran, it is only the US's rivals, such as China, who are able to fully exploit Iran's natural resources, thus powering a new alliance of countries which will act as a counterweight to US global power. By pursuing such a hostile agenda to a country with so much petro-clout, America is, according to Howard, writing its obituary as the world's only superpower.
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