The Truth about Syria [Hardcover]

Barry Rubin (Author)

Book Description

Release date: May 29, 2007 | ISBN-10: 1403982732 | ISBN-13: 978-1403982735 | Edition: 1st

Syria has long presented a serious problem for the Middle East region and U.S. policy. With its mix of competing religious and ethnic groups, radical ideologies, and political repression, it is a 72,000-square-mile time bomb waiting to go off. Yet surprisingly, very little is known about this country and the role it has played in shaping the destiny of the Middle East. In The Truth about Syria, Middle East expert Barry Rubin looks at the critical issues that have made the country the powderkeg of the Middle East and offers an insightful analysis of the effects of recent developments.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Syria will play a major role in the years to come both as a player and an issue in world politics. This book, written by a veteran student of Middle East affairs, is the most up-to-date and reliable guide available on this subject."

--Walter Laqueur, Emeritus Professor, Georgetown University, and author of The Road to War

 

"In this book Barry Rubin takes Syria as a model of Arab tyranny. What might look like gratuitous violence, cruelty, or mendacity serves the purpose of shoring up the power of the one-man ruler and his regime, and is completely predictable. There is now no good reason for the West and its leaders to go along with this dynamic, indeed to feed it regularly. Rubin describes with care, and prescribes with caution. The achievement is as informed as it is humane."

--David Pryce-Jones, author of The Closed Circle: An Interpretation of the Arabs

 

"Barry Rubin's book is a much-needed examination that cuts through the delusions and fantasies currently in vogue about the Assad regime. Rubin nails the nature of Syria's rulers and their behavior, explaining why they are--and will always be--hard-line, chronic exporters of instability."

--Tony Badran, Research Fellow (Levant), Foundation for Defense of Democracies

 

"The Truth About Syria . . . is a welcome contribution to the largely unimpressive body of research on modern Syria. Rubin’s well-sourced study provides an unvarnished appraisal of Syrian politics, making no apologies for the brutal internal and destabilizing foreign policies that characterized the 30 year rule of Syrian leader Hafiz Assad and that persist under Hafiz's son and successor Bashar. The Truth About Syria is informative, insightful, and readable, and is an important contribution toward understanding this important but understudied state."

--David Schenker, Senior Fellow in Arab Politics, Washington Institute for Near East Policy

 

"Professor Rubin’s book comes at a time when the debate over Syria and its regime is growing throughout Europe and America. He courageously gathers evidence showing the impossibility of dealing with Syria or changing its behavior. The merit of Rubin’s book lies in the thorough dissection of the regime’s psychological conduct, and of the tools this dictatorship has used in the past and uses now to remain in power. Any approach to the Syrian problem that does not take Professor Rubin’s analysis into consideration will be an incomplete one."

--Elie Fawaz, Lebanese political analyst

 

“Rubin's book is a breath of fresh air, compared with analysis from other Syria 'experts'...[who] stubbornly insist that Syria can be a U.S. ally...The Truth About Syria is relentless and unapologetic. It shows how Syria is backing Palestinian terrorism and the Iraqi insurgency, murdering Lebanese patriots, lying to American diplomats and committing a host of other offenses that Americans should learn about if they are to prevent their elected representatives from further missions of folly."

– Jonathan Schanzer, New York Post

 

"As a history of Syria, especially under Hafiz and later Bashar Assad, The Truth About Syria is a very good book."

--Håvard M Nygård, Journal of Peace Research

 

 

Book Description

Syria has long presented a serious problem for the Middle East region and U.S. policy. With its mix of competing religious and ethnic groups, radical ideologies, and political repression, it is a 72,000-square-mile time bomb waiting to go off. Yet surprisingly, very little is known about this country and the role it has played in shaping the destiny of the Middle East. In The Truth about Syria, Middle East expert Barry Rubin looks at the critical issues that have made the country the powderkeg of the Middle East and offers an insightful analysis of the effects of recent developments.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan; 1st edition (May 29, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1403982732
• ISBN-13: 978-1403982735
• Product Dimensions: 6.3 x 1 x 9.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,947,543 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Anatomy of a dictatorship December 2, 2009

By Thomas Mitchell

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

This book is in the style of academic books on the former Soviet Union or Nazi Germany--the anatomy of a dictatorship. Rubin details early Syrian politics, the rise to power as sole dictator of Hafez al-Assad and then the transfer of power to his son Bashar al-Assad. For those wishing to understand the internal dynamics of Syria this appears to be quite a good guide. I would urge caution, however, in reading the chapter on relations with Israel. Rubin writes with certainty and conviction, and some persuasion, that Ba'athist Syria is incapable of making peace with Israel. But he writes that Israel offered to return all of the Golan to Syria in exchange for peace and Assad turned Israel down. This is not true. Rabin made the offer provided that Syria was willing to offer full peace in exchange. But Peres broke off talks in the early spring of 1996 because Syria refused to condemn a terrorist attack and Barak wanted to adjust the border when his final offer was made to Assad by Clinton in March 2000. Dennis Ross blamed Assad's rejection of the offer on Assad's focus on assuring a smooth succession before his impending death from cancer. So Rubin's thesis regarding Israeli-Syrian peace has yet to be fully tested, contrary to what he writes. But I still urge those interested in Syria and Middle East peace to read this book.

8 of 11 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars non-academic perspective, a simple good start on Syria June 11, 2009

By Petek J

Format:Paperback

I don't think we can ever claim that this type of book writing is objective. There may be objective dates and events, but one look at the title "The Truth About..." is enough to suggest that this book is the result of the author's experience of the region. His language is not academic and is filled with expressions that shout "this is my opinion". Therefore, it is pointless to make a judgement about his book based on his ethnic background.

In controversial topics like the one this book tackles, it's important to read as many books as possible from different authors, both academic and non-academic. I think that Barry Rubin has written an easy-read account of various events in Syrian and Middle Eastern recent history with this book.

What I got out of the book was that Syria has been a rogue state with very self-destructive internal policies. For decades, the regime has been run by elite that have focused on meddling into neighboring countries' affairs instead of addressing their own peoples' plights. Furthermore, this has been- possibly on purpose- largely ignored by the West especially by the US. I would argue that, with this book, Barry Rubin has attempted to call on to Western (particularly) American foreign policymakers to take a more effective and pro-active stance against Syria, instead of running after imaginary missions (a.k.a search for Weapons of Mass Destruction in Iraq).

I think the gist of the book is that the West has failed to identify the reasons why Palestine and Israel have not settled there differences for so long. And one real reason is interference from Syria.

11 of 17 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Must reading about Syria March 3, 2008

By Ami Isseroff

Format:Hardcover

Professor Rubin's book does for Syria what John Gunther did many years for USSR. Shorn of topical references, this is an "Inside Assad's Syria" and can give many people insights into what the regime is about, how it works and what it is like. It is, if you will, a "user's guide."

That doesn't mean that every prognostication or evaluation in the book is precisely right, but it does mean you will come away with the understanding that a regime such as Syria is very different from the sort of political reality that you might know as a person living in a free society with post modern industrial values.

I would have liked to see more history and detail about the workings of the regime and relation to Hezbollah and Iran, suppression of dissidents and prospects for political change, and less dwelling on prognostications that are apt to be mistaken in the nature of things, but this is still a must-read book.

When you come to a place like Syria or want to understand such a regime, everyone must understand "You are not in Kansas Dorothy" - words don't have the same meaning, concepts like democracy don't mean the same thing either.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A sober assessment March 13, 2012

By Catherine Lodge

Format:Paperback

I bought this book because I wanted to be sure I was not just jumping on the bandwaggon of public outrage at the current situation in Syria. I wanted to know who the rebels were and whether the story propounded by the Syrian regime of the rebels being subversive elements was true. Having almost finished reading it, I am much the wiser.

The text is sober and rational but you sense deep though restrained convictions running through it. The author describes the Assad dynasty and the mechanisms of power with a grudging admiration for the wiliness of father and son and wondering scorn for those who fall for their ruses again and again. Whatever the outcome of the present unrest or civil war, my conclusion, if the title of this book lives up to its promise of truth, is that the present regime in Syria has for years been a refuge and nursery for terrorists and a great mischief-maker bent on scuppering all attempts at finding some sort of peace and compromise.

So, whoever the rebels are, be they Sunni Moslems only, or a coalition of desparate and frustrated citizens from among the many ethnic groups in Syria, it appears to me, from this book, that the Middle East can only benefit from the downfall of this demagogic and stifling regime.