A Choice of Enemies: America Confronts the Middle East (Hardcover), by Lawrence Freedman. PublicAffairs (May 12, 2008).
It is in the Middle East that the U.S. has been made to confront its attitudes on the use of force, the role of allies, and international law. The history of the U.S. in the Middle East, then, becomes an especially revealing mirror on America's view of its role in the wider world. In this wise, objective, and illuminating history, Lawrence Freedman shows how three key events in 1978–79 helped establish the foundations for U.S. involvement in the Middle East that would last for thirty years, without offering any straightforward or bloodless exit options: the Camp David summit leading to the Israel-Egypt Treaty; the Iranian Islamic revolution leading to the Shah's departure followed by the hostage crisis; and the socialist revolution in Afghanistan, resulting in the doomed Soviet intervention. Freedman makes clear how America's strategic choices in those and subsequent crises led us to where we are today. A Choice of Enemies is essential reading for anyone concerned with the complex politics of the region or with the future of American foreign policy.  Information

Destroying World Order: U.S. Imperialism in the Middle East Before and After September 11th (Paperback), by Francis Anthony Boyle. Clarity Press; 1 edition (April 2004).
What are the imperial dimensions of U.S. policy in the Middle East, past and present? This hard-hitting commentary, well-grounded in fact and law, addresses these questions: 1) Did the U.S. break international law in the Middle East before September 11th? 2)...after September 11th? 3) How are U.S. actions affecting the UN? 4) What are the implications for world peace for the American military, American civil liberties and American and international economic well-being? 5) Should George W. Bush be impeached for lying in leading the nation to war? The author further discusses U.S. assistance to Iraq during the Iran/Iraq war and U.S. conduct of the 1990 Gulf War, and the recent wars in Afghanistan and Iraq in relation to violations of the laws of neutrality, humanitarian law, the laws of war and the U.S. Constitution. The concluding chapter includes draft articles for the impeachment of President George W. Bush.  Information

Martyrs, Updated Edition: Innocence, Vengeance, and Despair in the Middle East (Paperback), by Joyce M. Davis. Palgrave Macmillan; Revised Edition edition (October 21, 2004).
Discussions of terrorism and suicide bombers run the risk of painting these complex, polarizing issues with too broad a brush, rushing to quick summations and blanket statements at the expense of depth. Not so with Martyrs, Knight-Ridder Deputy Foreign Editor Joyce Davis’s multi-faceted approach to the subject. While never excusing the unspeakable acts that they commit, Davis sets out to find out what can fill people with such hate and zealotry that they would willingly die in the process of attacking their enemies. Only with this knowledge, she theorizes, can America understand who it’s up against and find a way to stop these forces before they kill again. Davis profiles numerous people in the Middle East on many different sides of the martyrdom issue. Her scope is impressive; the book devotes chapters to children who have died in the Israel-Palestinian conflict, female suicide bombers, mothers of men who have been declared martyrs, and, in what is perhaps the most compelling section, men who train bombers before the missions are carried out. Besides gathering a wide range of viewpoints, Davis brings a perspective to this well-covered issue that is personal and moving: rather than relying on news reports or spending much time with policy experts, Davis traveled to the region, met the people, and got the story. Her interviews create a fascinating mosaic of people at the heart of the conflict between the United States, Israel, and several primarily Muslim countries. Along the way, insight is gained into the underpinnings of anti-American sentiment in the Arab world: its roots, evolution, and future. Davis’s actual writing can be a bit clunky from time to time, especially when she spells out her analysis rather than letting her copious research lead us to those same conclusions. But this does not distract from Davis’s largely successful to shed light on a world that has long existed mostly in shadow.  Information

Media, War and Terrorism: Responses from the Middle East and Asia (Politics in Asia) (Hardcover), by Van Der Veer. RoutledgeCurzon; 1 edition (July 6, 2004).
Media, War and Terrorism analyses, for the first time, responses to the events of 9/11 and it's repercussions from the point of view of Asian and Middle Eastern countries. Perhaps controversially, the contributors argue that while the US, and to an extent European, media seems largely unified in their coverage and silence in public debate of the events surrounding the attacks on the World Trade Centre, there exists open, critical debate in other parts of the world. By examining the use of media as an instrument of warfare and analyzing the construction of public opinion in mediated electronic warfare, this book clearly shows the difference in perspectives between public opinion in the US and the rest of the world. Moving away from popular assumptions that societies in the West are democratic and progressive and those in the Middle East and Asia are either authoritarian or under-developed, this examination of the media in those countries suggests the exact opposite. In combining an examination of the general, theoretical issues concerning the use of the media as an instrument of warfare with rich, geographically diverse case studies, the editors are able to provide a diverse and intriguing analysis of the impact and inter-connectedness of national and global medias. Bringing together contributions from academics, journalists and media practioners from all over the world, Media, War and Terrorism is an essential read for all of those seeking an informed, non-Western perspective on the events following 9/11.  Information

Targeting Terror: U.S. Policy Toward Middle Eastern State Sponsors and Terrorist Organizations, Post-September 11 (Policy Papers (Washington Institute ... Institute for Near East Policy), No. 58.) (Paperback), by Matthew Levitt. Washington Institute for Near East Policy (March 1, 2003).
September 11 produced unprecedented political will in the United States to fight international terrorism with all of the energy and power at the collective disposal of America and its allies. That principle has already been applied to al-Qaeda and is now being applied to Saddam Husayn's Iraq. But what effect has the U.S.-led "war on terror" had on the leaders and state sponsors of other Middle Eastern terrorist organizations? In this sober, fact-filled assessment of U.S. counterterrorism policy over the past year, Matthew Levitt argues that without marshalling the resolve and resources to fight terror on all its fronts simultaneously, the West will not fully come to grips with the implications of September 11.   Information

The Limits of American Power: Prosecuting a Middle East Peace (Hardcover), by Douglas Sturkey. Edward Elgar Publishing (June 30, 2007).
The Limits of American Power discusses how any country, including the US, has a range of instruments, short of force, at its disposal by which it may project power in pursuit of its diplomatic objectives. The use of the instruments is subject to domestic and international constraints and, particularly in the case of the US, its global position must also be considered. This is a fascinating and rigorous study of how, from 1991, the US projected its power to attain its declared objective of a negotiated settlement of the Arab-Israel dispute, yet despite these efforts, failed to achieve it. The author reveals the disinclination of Presidents Clinton and George W. Bush to employ all the means available to them, and discontinuities in their approaches, which resulted in an ineffective projection of power during their presidencies to 2006. This analysis reveals measures that could be applied for a more effective projection of state power in relation to the Middle East dispute and also in other circumstances around the globe. This book's penetrating analysis and lessons to be learnt from the US experience in relation to the Arab-Israel dispute, will appeal strongly to scholars and practitioners in international relations, political science, and diplomacy.  Information

The Middle East and Palestine: Global Politics and Regional Conflict (Hardcover), by Dietrich Jung (Editor). Palgrave Macmillan (August 26, 2004).
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. Information

The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Middle East (Politically Incorrect Guides) (Paperback), by Martin Sieff. Regnery Publishing (January 28, 2008).
The Middle East: a region that's almost never off the front pages, yet one most Americans know little about. The mainstream media and Ivy League academics only make matters worse by casting everything in the usual politically correct mold: Arab terrorists are just desperate freedom fighters, and the region's one free democracy--Israel--is the oppressor, not least because of its alliance with America. And if Islamic extremism is a problem, the establishment tells us, it's only because it's rooted in that source of all evils: religion. A different strain of political correctness has seeped into some minds on the right--most notably the Bush administration, which, so ready to buy into the egalitarian myths we are all taught, believed that Western-style democracy could flourish anywhere. Now, in The Politically Incorrect Guide(tm) to the Middle East, veteran Middle East correspondent Martin Sieff puts the lie to all these myths and clichés, giving you everything you need to know about the region to understand its past, its present, and its possible future.  Information

War on Terror: The Middle East Dimension (Paperback), by Weinberg Founders Conference (Author), Robert B. Satloff (Editor). Washington Institute for Near East Policy (April 16, 2002).
The al-Qaeda terrorist network may have been based in Afghanistan, but the war on terrorism launched in the wake of September 11 has special resonance in the Middle East. In this edited volume, a blue-ribbon collection of U.S. and Middle Eastern scholars, experts, diplomats, journalists, and decision-makers—some from the front lines of the fight against terror—discuss the Middle Eastern dimension of the antiterror campaign. Topics include the impact of September 11 on the Arab-Israeli arena, the various strategies adopted by Middle Eastern states in meeting their home-grown extremist challenge, the problems and prospects of maintaining an antiterror coalition, and the role of democracy as an antidote to the region’s political ills.   Information

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