The Truth About Camp David: The Untold Story About the Collapse of the Middle East Peace Process (Nation Books) [Paperback]

Clayton E. Swisher (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 21, 2004 | Series: Nation Books

The collapse of both sets of Arab-Israeli negotiations in 2000 led not only to recrimination and bloodshed, with the outbreak of the second intifada, but to the creation of a new myth. Syrian and Palestinian intransigence was blamed for the current disastrous state of affairs, as both parties rejected a "generous" peace offering from the Israelis that would have brought peace to the region. The Truth About Camp David shatters that myth. Based on the riveting, eyewitness accounts of more than forty direct participants involved in the latest rounds of Arab-Israeli negotiations, including the Camp David 2000 summit, former federal investigator-turned-investigative journalist Clayton E. Swisher provides a compelling counter-narrative to the commonly accepted history. The Truth About Camp David details the tragic inner workings of the Clinton Administration's negotiating mayhem, their eleventh hour blunders and miscalculations, and their concluding decision to end the Oslo process with blame and disengagement. It is not only a fascinating historical look at Middle East politics on the brink of disaster, but a revelatory portrait of how all-too-human American political considerations helped facilitate the present crisis.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"...A fascinating book, an invasive, incisive and merciless probe of the guts of the Clinton administration." -- Akiva Eldar,

"A carefully researched account that challenges conventional interpretations of the Camp David summit of 2000." -- William B. Quandt, Professor of Politics, University of Virginia, author of Peace Process

"Any future mediator will have to read this account before the start of any final-status negotiations." -- Charles Enderlin, author of Shattered Dreams and Jerusalem Bureau chief of France 2 television

"Challenging the pieties and political correctness of American discourse, Swisher makes a convincing case." -- L. Carl Brown, Foreign Affairs, September/October 2005

About the Author

CLAYTON E. SWISHER, a former marine reservist and federal criminal investigator, was educated at the University of Pittsburgh and Georgetown University, and is currently studying Law & Economics part-time at George Mason University. Swisher works as an associate for a Middle East consulting firm in Washington, D.C. where he resides.

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Nation Books; First Edition edition (September 21, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1560256230
• ISBN-13: 978-1560256236
• Product Dimensions: 5 x 1.3 x 8.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #723,348 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

71 of 85 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Best book yet on Mideast peace process September 7, 2004

By M. Rosenberg

Format:Paperback

Talk about doing your homework. Clayton Swisher has interviewed virtually everyone involved in the Middle East peace process. And they told him very different things than we have all read before. That is why, as of this time, this is the most definitive book on why the Oslo process collapsed in 2000. Well-written, heavily footnoted, loaded with juicy nuggets, this is a book anyone even mildly interested in the Mideast will want to read. All I can say is "Bravo."

48 of 57 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Unbelievable Book! October 4, 2004

By SG

Format:Paperback

I have read virtually every book on the Palestinian-Isreali conflict and I found this book to be among the best. Clayton Swisher brings a truly unique perspective to a complex and often misunderstood issue. This is a must read for anyone who wants to truly understand the conflict.

71 of 86 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Puts Dennis Ross book to shame October 14, 2004

By JeffGold

Format:Paperback

First I read Dennis Ross' self-serving book about Camp David. Then I read this guy's.

No comparison. Ross' book is all about Ross. He is always right and the Israelis are always right.

Swisher, who interviewed everybody who was at Camp David, finds that there was plenty of blame to go around. And Ross is himself blamed for his blatant pro-Israel bias and for misleading President Clinton.

Swisher is a fine scholar. This book will be the one that future historians will view as the best source on what really happened at Camp David and why. It's a great Christmas gift too. How about some truth in your Christmas or Hanukah stockings!

48 of 58 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Highly recommended for any American who wants to know what happened. February 20, 2006

By Utah Blaine

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

This book presents detailed, eye-witness accounts from all sides of the US/Israeli peace negotiations with the Syrians and Palestinians during the latter part of the Clinton administration. This is not a particularly well written book, it is clear that Mr. Swisher is still developing his craft, but it is invaluable to learn what really took place in these discussions. The text is repetitive at times, and could probably have been cut by 20%. There are other areas where detail is oddly lacking. This is a five star book for content, but only a three star book in terms of language/grammar. I've given it five to balance out some of the negative reviews. This is an important and timely book that will shatter some of the myths associated with the US role in the `peace process'.

The conventional wisdom in the US is that the US and Israel offered the Palestinians 90% of what they wanted, and were rejected. The conclusion is that since this offer was rejected, they have no partner for peace. The reality is considerably more complex. This book examines in detail, with accounts taken from participants on all sides, what was in fact offered to the Palestinians and why they rejected this offer. I challenge any reader who believes this conventional wisdom to read this book. Some of the negative reviewers below make very good points vis-a-vis Palestinian terrorism, Arafat's role in the second intifada, right of return, etc., but they miss the key issue of this book. To understand why the negociations failed and why the offer was rejected by Arafat, one must understand EXACTLY what was offered to the Palestinians. As described in great detail in this book, the Palestinians were offered far less than true statehood by the US and Israelis.... They would have had a state in name (with a flag, an anthem, etc.), but the Palestinian state would be economically and politically subservient to Israel. They would not control their borders or their economy, their country would be divided by Israeli-only roads, and they would have a capital in a suburb of Jerusalem. This was not a process from which (from a US/Israeli perspective) a viable, independent, free Palestinian state would be formed, but one in which the Palestinians would accept Israeli political, economic, and military domination. Arafat quite rightly rejected this.

The second, and perhaps more chilling, aspect of this book is how the line dividing US and Israeli interests among the highest levels of the US government has almost totally disappeared. Why is Dennis Ross, a man described as more pro-Israel than the Israeli delegation and a servant of AIPAC, representing the US in these negociations? Surely there must have been someone who was slightly less one-sided in the State Department to take the role that Dennis Ross was thrust into?

A significant fraction (roughly 1/3) of the book deals with the Syrian/Israeli peace process, the return of the Golan Heights to Syria, and the death of President Assad. The main point of interest in these discussions is that Israel could have peace tomorrow with Syria if the Golan Height were returned in toto.

Overall, this is a detailed, factual, balanced account of the US/Israeli peace negociations with the Palestinians and I recommend it to anyone with an interest in this issue. I look forward to reading more from Mr. Swisher. Read more ›

78 of 97 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Peace process--a crossexamination October 21, 2004

By John C. Landon

Format:Paperback

I was reading Dennis Ross' always interesting Missing Peace on Camp David 2000 finding myself with the uncomfortable feeling I would never figure out what did happen. These lingering suspicions drove me to find the lowdown somewhere else, and presto here it is. I cannot finally vouch for anyone' statements in this quagmire of diplomatic Machiavellians, but Swisher's account makes clear how we were probably fooled by the spin coming out of the Clinton-Barak camp after the collapse of the talks. So that's how they did it!

This is a key book on the discrepancy between the propaganda and the facts, with Arafat's taking the blame shown up for what it is.

33 of 40 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent September 17, 2004

By S. Naji

Format:Paperback

A must have for anyone seeking the truth. This book gives us a perspective that we have never seen or heard before. The book is based on the interviews of virtually every major player in the peace process. If you want to know what really happened, this is the book for you.

37 of 46 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars a good resource July 1, 2005

By A. Winder

Format:Paperback

Hmmm, why is it not shocking that the reactionary pro-Israel voices find this book to be "one-sided"? In reality, Swisher has extensively interviewed representatives of all parties involved in the Camp David debacle. His thesis is not that one party or the other is to blame, but rather that the Camp David negotiations were structurally flawed from the start. Of course, any narrative that doesn't reinforce the Arafat-as-rejectionist and Barak-as-generous-offerer myth is sure to arrouse the ire of the reactionary pro-Israel contingent, but if you aren't satisfied taking Dennis Ross's book as the gospel (btw, in every interview and appearance I've seen, Swisher encourages people to read Ross's book as well as his own) and you want to find out a bit more of what the major players in the Camp David fiasco had to say after the fact, then check this book out.

30 of 38 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely the best book about current Israeli-Palestinian affairs July 13, 2005

By S. Amer

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Clayton Swisher writes his own observations from inside the closed door meetings between Israeli and Arab negotiators. He also adds observations of others who witnessed these negotiations. You get a view of these negotiations that you have never seen before. Absolutely worth reading.