The Stakes: America and the Middle East

Rating:
Summary: "Fighting the Demand Side of Terrorism"
Review: I have read more than 300 books on the Middle East. Along with Jimmy Carter's "The Blood of Abraham," which introduced me to the region nearly two decades ago, and Benny Morris's "The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem," which exploded the myth of Israel's righteousness in forging its statehood, this is one of the three that really opened my eyes.

I know of no other American who writes with such comprehension--and expresses himself so clearly--about the Middle East. The public opinion surveys Telhami has commissioned in diverse Arab countries reveal at least two important facts: 1) Arabs in general misunderstand Americans as badly as Americans in general misunderstand Arabs, and 2) the plight of the Palestinians is an issue so personal to so many people throughout the Middle East that if the United States wishes to keep peace there it should make helping create a Palestinian state its most important objective for the region.

Telhami's thesis that the United States must fight the "war on terrorism" on two fronts--the supply side and the demand side--and that we currently are fighting it well only on the supply side must be understood if this nation is ever to regain the respect, admiration, and trust around the world that it has lost in the past few years.

Rating:
Summary: WHY DO THEY HATE US?
Review: I think we all know what Shibley Telhami is addressing in the title of this book. It's not just terrorism that we have to worry about. Countries such as Saudi Arabia have about 2/3 of the worlds oil reserves which, no matter what we say, we are partially dependent on. What is at stake is a whole generation of young Arabs and Muslims who can grow up hating America or having a positive view of it.

I think one of the questions a lot of Americans asked after 9/11 was how could a group hate us enough to kill thousands of innocent people, and by extension of that, why does the Middle East hate us so much? That is one of the questions Telhami tries to answer in The Stakes. After doing surveys in Muslim countries, and also, in some European countries, like France, Telhami came up with a surprising answer. He found that they hold resentment towards our foreign policy, not our belief system. Much like Bush said our war wasn't with the Iraqi "people" but with its regime, most of them have a problem with the policies of our presidents or our congress. They have a more favorable view of our belief system. Well, that's not counting the religious fundamentalists.

Telhami thinks that a huge part of the friction between us and middle eastern states is the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Whoa, that's a big surprise, isn't it? Even as I write this, meetings have resumed in Israel between the two parties. Hopefully, there will be a peace in our time. Because the Arabs, or at least some, view themselves as one people. They see the victimization of the Palestinians as an oppression of all Arabs. The author believes that until this is settled, and as long as we blindly back Israel, there will never be a complete ease in relations with Middle East nations. In fact, according to surveys he conducted, America could improve its image among Arabs and Muslims almost 100% if it could broker a lasting and just peace between the two parties. God, what a relief that would be.

Telhami is not gentle about our dependence on Middle Eastern oil. Even though in the short term we can look to other nations for oil, most of the reserves that will be used in the future are located in the Middle East. In the future, as oil becomes more scarce, that area of the world will become even more important than it is now. So we had better do something about our image now.

One of the other things that Telhami writes about is whether or not we should even care about public opinion in the Middle East. The answer is yes. The only reason we get by now is because in most middle eastern countries there is a military strongman to oppress his people when they try to speak their mind. In Pakistan, Egypt, and other countries, most opposition is put down mercilessly. The fact is that if most Middle Eastern countries became democracies overnight, they would be violently opposed to the US. If we truly want rule by the people in these nations, we need to improve our image.

This is a good book. It's informative and comes to some sound conclusions. Yes, the US has great power, but it needs to work on its public relations in the middle east. Even a terror organization such as Hamas has a good image among the Palestinians in the occupied territories and other countries around the world. Why? Because they contribute to social services such as schools, and help to the destitute. Why can't the US do things like that in the Middle East? Instead of invading countries, why not help build schools, help the poor, anything to give positive reinforcement to the belief that America is a good country. It IS a good and generous country. It's just that sometimes our leadership isn't the best. We're going to need a good leader in the future to steer the right course in our relationship with the Middle East. Its our security and peace that is at stake.

Rating:
Summary: the best book on America and the Middle East in coming year
Review: This book is balanced and gives insight to the region's social, political and economic conditions.
It shows that the central issue in the region is the Israeli-Arab conflict. It explains why People in the region dislike America's FOREIGN POLICY... And that they will be more than happy to have America exports its VALUES there...
Great book!