I’ve been wading through Yossef Bodansky’s dense but interesting book The High Cost of Peace: How Washington’s Middle East Policy Left America Vulnerable to Terrorism. It’s a very detailed look at how the policies of the George H.W. Bush and Clinton presidencies attempted to put political expediency above any real interests of peace or security towards Israel.
Bodansky is one of the foremost experts on terrorism and Middle Eastern policy, and he paints a very damning picture of a United States policy that clearly ignored the rising storm of Islamic militancy in the Middle East. This goes far beyond Bill Clinton’s unwillingness to go after al-Qaeda, but a reckless disregard for the interests of Israel in the peace process and a complete lack of understanding of the real nature of the threat.
I’ll try and get a full review in once I’ve finished the book either here or on Blogcritics. In the meantime, the book is available in bookstores everywhere.
