Rating: 
Summary: Bodansky Did It again
Review: Another 'tokeep' book for your library. Bodansky isn't afraid to tell it like it is. This book makes a person think hard about this countrys involvement in other nations when it doesn't understand their politics/religion. This is a war of religious belief that intends to rid the world of Christianity. Bodansky clearly shows the players.
Rating:
Summary: Bodansky is unusually good
Review: As an Lebanese expatriate, I was deeply impressed at the depth of knowledge and detail displayed by Bodansky in this wonderful book. To understand why Lebanon is the key to peace in the Middle East, one must be aware of the many regional dynamics that involve Syria, Iraq, Iran, and Lebanon, in their attempt to impose a new anti-West, Islamic empire for the region and one that displaces Israel as a participant in the Levant.
These issues are salient and necessary to understand the debates raging today in the United Nations and the United States Congress as to a possible war with Iraq. Bodansky's knowledge and writing skills foreshadowed these existential events perfectly and will certainly provoke a reaction from the participants in this political drama as well as from all the readers who will find this book a necessary primer of in-depth Middle East politics, strategy, and tactics.
Bodansky has the uncanny ability to explore these issues in detail while concisely examining other topics of the Middle East, as well as their relationship with Washington politics, and separating substance from political expediency. No one walks away unscathed.Nagi N. Najjar
Executive Director
Lebanese Foundation for Peace
Rating:
Summary: Lighting up a dark world
Review: As if someone lit a lightbulb in a darkened world was the effect upon me of Bodansky's new book "The High Cost of Peace."
I feel confident in saying that I represent the many people who walk away confused at the conflicting and difficult news we read daily and yet has that aura of uncertainty surrounding it. Bodansky clears away the fog of confusion and replaces it with a clear and cogent view of events that in his clarity of style explains the details and brings them together in a meaningful and authenticated fashion.
For example, the mystery of the Camp David Accords are explained, the first time to my knowledge, and the participants come to life with all their imperfections.
It was Oliver Cromwell who said, "Paint me with all my Pimples," and Bodansky uses his objective eye to do that exactly with all these players in a global drama that foreshadow Armegeddon if we don't tred lightly and carry a strong stick.
We owe Bodansky a debt of gratitude for his effort.
Rating:
Summary: Required Reading for Our Times
Review: Author Bodansky, a noted expert on the Middle East and on Islamic terrorism, weaves a compelling, fact-filled (perhaps too fact-filled) work on how the Middle East policies of Bush I and Clinton not only jeopardized the security of Israel, but ours as well. Bodansky proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that Arafat never wanted peace with Israel, that Saddam was more than willing to stoke the fires of terrorism throughout the Middle East and elsewhere, and that 9/11 was inevitable, not because of the American hegemony or "imperialist" nonsense,or because of the existence of an Israel, but because all of the Arab terror organizations, whether religious or secular, Sunni or Shi'ite, all of them wanted the United States out of the region and Israel obliterated. For those still skeptical of the "smoking gun" ties between Saddam Hussein and Osama Bin Laden, it is all there folks, with a dash of Yasser Arafat thrown in too. Bodansky provides all of the grim evidence needed to convict. A must-read as our forces approach Baghdad and more intelligence revelations will be made very soon.
Rating:
Summary: Plenty of useful facts
Review: I didn't have high hopes for this book when I purchased it. I don't usually like history books that engage in what appears to be speculation a significant amount of the time. And this book does that. It may seem to have evidence for its speculations, but that isn't the issue.
Many of the speculations involve the readiness of various Arab nations to engage in major regional wars. And let's face it, these are just speculations. People on both sides have to take the possibility of war seriously. That means that war is a threat, but it doesn't mean that anyone is about to start one.
But the book got five stars from me anyway, just for being the best so far of a bunch of books about the Arab-Israeli "peace process." It got those five stars for doing the pedestrian chores of reporting the day-to-day action on the ground, much of which is simply and purely factual. That puts much of the negotiating in the proper perspective.
The day-to-day action includes the visit of Sharon to the Temple Mount, a move that clearly was a litmus test: would Jews even be permitted to visit their holiest site in the event of a "peace agreement." Israel carefully got permission from Rajub, who was in charge of fifty Arab "security personnel" there. And Bodansky says that Barak also got assurances from Arafat that there would be no problem. Of course, Arafat and Rajub planned to use this visit to cause trouble. And Bodansky then points out that this flunked the litmus test, showing most Israelis that the Arab side was completely untrustworthy. It threw away an incredible Israeli offer to pull its people, including thousands of Israeli civilians living in their native land, out of parts of the West Bank. And it threw away much of the political power of Israeli Arabs, who were no longer trusted much after they rioted against, in effect, their own country's right to exist.
Day-to-day action includes the almost total lack of response by Israel to initial Arab attacks in 2000. This refusal to fight was obviously to guarantee that everyone would see that the Arabs were the aggressors. Bodansky points out that this idea failed, and the Israelis were labelled as aggressors by many seemingly neutral people anyway.
Day-to-day action also reminds us of the significance of the interception of the Karine-A, a ship from Iran that was sent to supply Arafat's terrorists with heavy weapons. That event obviously convinced some formerly misled people about what was going on, and it made it impossible for others to deny the truth in administration circles. Did it make a difference in how the U. S. administration behaved after that? Maybe.
Day-to-day action also includes the events of April, 2002, when the Israeli army moved against Jenin. Here, Bodansky is correct to point out that Israeli troops behaved admirably, and that there was in fact no massacre, and that Arab and European claims to the contrary were lies. And he was right to point out that the IDF used its infantry rather than tanks in order to minimize civilian casualties.
Actually, I think most Jews in Israel realized the danger of sending ground forces into Jenin. And I think doing so was a successful attempt by Sharon to do what many people in the Israeli "peace camp" had advised: to make sure that his army behaved with impeccable morality. It did so. And lost in the noise of the accusations from Arabs and Europeans may have been the winning over of much of the Israeli "peace camp" to Sharon in this battle. Well, that is a speculation, and I certainly won't fault Bodansky for not stating it!
Anyway, yes, I'm suspicious of Bodansky's speculations, suspicious of his political stances, and suspicious of any book on the topic. But, yes, this one is the best so far.
Rating: 
Summary: Where's the evidence?
Review: I really don't understand how so many people can rate this book so positively when there is NOT ONE SINGLE FOOTNOTE in the entire work. He makes all sorts of wild claims (for example, that Iran purchased nuclear weapons from Kazakhstan in 1992) but there is NOTHING to back this up. It is all unproven allegations supposedly derived from "human sources" that he cannot reveal (for their own safety, of course). The bottom line is you might as well be reading a Robert Ludlum novel or internet conspiracy site for all the good this book does you. What is fact, and what is fiction in this book? Who even knows, since it is impossible to evaluate his sources! You can judge Bodansky's credibility by his assertion (at the time of publication in July 2002) that a massive Middle East war was inevitable in which Iran would nuke Israel. Moreover, the author claimed that if the US attacked Iraq, Iraq would retaliate against Israel with chemical and biological weapons. Gee, looks like none of that happened, eh?
Rating: 
Summary: Useful But Not Comprehensive
Review: Mr. Bodansky's book is useful but not comprehensive. For example, the chapter, "The Road to Damascus," begins with the election of Ehud Barak in May 1999 and describes in detail, including US participation, the subsequent events that led to an aborted Syrian coup. Mr. Bodansky omits any mention of the the meetings that occurred between June 19 and June 21, 1999 with the presidents of Syria and Lebanon and James A. Baker, former secretary of state, and Edward Djernian, former ambassador to Syria. These meetings were not secret and, in fact, were covered by the Arab press.
Rating:
Summary: The High Cost of Peace
Review: The book begins with a strange title, "The High Cost of Peace," something like The Difficulty of the Child Who Does Well in School, or The Problem of Having a Boss Who Pays Too Much and Gives too many Vacation Days. Perhaps the converse will be appropriate for the next book, The Many Benefits of War.
Bodansky's thesis is easy to predict and holds true to form, Israel has been insufficiently skeptical about Palestianian and other's politics which has lead to instability. A get tough approach is needed. The argument unfortunately fails to hold up to close examination.
From 1993-2000, while Israel was pursuing peace, things were relatively good in Israel. Levels of violence were low, tourism was booming, the economy was doing well, and the Palestinian Authority doing a passable job. The Clinton administration's peace efforts, mirroring those of prior administrations, together with a flexible Labor government, led to peace for all sites. It wasn't perfect but it was far better than what we face now.
Problems arose trying to craft an overall agreement instead of continuing with an interim arrangement. Terrorism began in 2000 with those like Bodansky saying, they bomb us, we destroy their homes, they follow with more terrorism, we destroy more homes and infrastructure, they kill, we kill, they kill, we kill. Just as the 1993-2000 policies were successful, those of Bosansky's ilk were a failure-as Palestinians became more desperate, and radical groups increased their power and authority. Mediation in 2000 by the US could have prevented much bloodshed as the world waited for a peace summit, but Bush said let them fight and they did.
Bodansky analyis is typically one-sided, ignoring the impact of these tough policies, he always fits the facts into the pre-existing thesis, Israel (and sometimes the US) needs to be more skeptical and tougher. How does he respond to the fact that there was more peace under 5 presidents Carter, Ford, Reagan, Bush, Sr, and Clinton, than there was for Israel and the US under the get tough policies of Bush. Bosansky says the problem is both sides aren't tough enough. We need to be tougher.
Like many of these argumentative books, he tends to confirm people's pre-existing views, conservatives will like it, others will find it simplistic and biased. Some more balance would have been helpful in utilizing his admittedly thorough documentation.
Rating:
Summary: Where's the evidence?
Review: This book is nothing short of AMAZING!! It makes one see the insight into the Arab world and their Diabolical ways and intertwining philosophy and undermining the region. It actually made me so mad reading this and knowing Bush in 1991 didn't go through with annihilating Saddam. But now that Bush jr learned from his fathers mistake has finally taken him down. I have read 1/3 of this book when I got it and then the war started. I have watched war coverage so far and set the book aside for LIVE DESTRUCTION of SADDAM REGIME as its more relevant and factual to see the outcome of what The US gov is NOW DOING vs. what the books says they failed to knowingly do in the 70's,80's and 90's BUT now they are acting in a meaningful way!
I will resume reading this fascinating book after the current war ends which seesm to be just a few days away as Tikrit falls and Al Qasim falls too and then we will see what, especially in Al Quasim have the resistance Syrians, hezballah and other foregign fighters tried to protect.
Rating:
Summary: Charts policy mishaps & dangerous accords
Review: Three US administrations have tired to negotiate peace between the Israelis and Palestinians, with no real luck. The High Cost Of Peace charts policy mishaps, dangerous accords, and the lasting legacy of a peace process which has only succeeded in heightening the troubles. Diverse chapters show how this process has left the U.S. vulnerable to terrorist threat, and consider how changes might be made.
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