Support Any Friend: Kennedy's Middle East and the Making of the U.S.-Israel Alliance

ISBN-13: 9780195177503 / Angielski / Miękka / 2004 / 360 str.

Warren Bass

Opis

At the Cold War's height, John F. Kennedy set precedents that continue to shape America's encounter with the Middle East. Kennedy was the first president to make a major arms sale to Israel, the only president to push hard to deny Israel the atomic bomb, and the last president to reach out to the greatest champion of Arab nationalism, Egyptian President Jamal Abdul Nasser. Now Warren Bass takes readers inside the corridors of power to show how Kennedy's New Frontiersmen grappled with the Middle East. He explains why the fiery Nasser spurned Washington's overtures and stumbled into a Middle Eastern Vietnam. He shows how Israel persuaded the Kennedy administration to start arming the Jewish state. And he grippingly describes JFK's showdown with Israeli Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion over Israel's secret nuclear reactor. From the Oval Office to secret diplomatic missions to Cairo and Tel Aviv, Bass offers stunning new insights into the pivotal presidency that helped create the U.S.-Israel alliance and the modern Middle East.

Recenzje

"A gripping account of how a chilly U.S.-Israeli relationship was transformed during the Kennedy presidency into today's full-blown alliance. Bass illuminates Kennedy's chess-like efforts to adequately arm the Israelis and maintain rapport with the Arabs, while keeping the Soviets out, the Suez Canal open and the oil flowing. Kennedy masterfully managed the potential Middle East crises of his time. Only Israel among the regional players made the most of what America offered. Bass' elegantly written analysis is filled with insights that make this an important and exciting work of history."—James Hoge, editor of Foreign Affairs

O autorze

Warren Bass serves on the professional staff of the 9/11 Commission. A former senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, his articles have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Foreign Affairs, The New Republic, and The Jerusalem Report. He lives in Washington, DC.