From Publishers Weekly
The author of an early book on Osama bin Laden and director of the Congressional Task Force on Terrorism, Bodansky turns his attention to the Middle East, painting a nightmarish picture of a region that has been teetering on the brink of war for several years. The United States, which he says "seduced" Israel into the Oslo peace process, is partially to blame, as are Israeli politicians, who until recently have ignored intelligence reports of the Arab world's complicity in terrorism and military buildup. He details his evidence for Yasser Arafat's involvement in terrorism which, he says, has been calculated to draw Israel into an on-again, off-again war that it cannot win. Arafat's goal, he believes, is to destroy Israel in a phased plan. Arab and Muslim nations from "rogue" states like Iraq and Iran to more moderate ones like Egypt have been engaged in the plan as well, but fear of an Israeli military response, among other factors, has prevented all-out war. Many will find it hard to believe that American and Israeli governments are as na‹ve as Bodansky claims about the level of unity in the Arab and Muslim world which he paints as very high. And while Bodansky marshals a prodigious amount of detail to support his case such as specific calls from Arafat for terrorist acts his language betrays a point of view some will find problematic, as when he says that Anwar Sadat "manipulated" the U.S. "into getting him the Sinai interim agreements with Israel." A book that might serve as a clarion call is less convincing than it could be.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Review
Praise for Yossef Bodansky and
The High Cost of Peace:"Read Bodansky and one can begin to appreciate what President Bush really meant when he said, 'This will be a monumental struggle between good and evil.'"
— Indianapolis Star"The expertise of Yossef Bodansky is in sudden demand."
— Los Angeles Times"Bodansky, the man who put us wise to Osama bin Laden before anyone else, has done it again. He has set forth a brilliant snapshot of the convoluted history of the Middle East from Israel's emergence to the current crisis. Bodansky's analysis shows clearly how Washington's short-sightedness helped precipitate the current terror campaign."
— Walter J. Boyne, author of The Two O'Clock War"I always suspected that Arafat was a terrorist and a corrupt leader. Now, Bodansky's exhaustive and damning investigation proves just that beyond a shadow of doubt.
The High Cost of Peace should be required reading in the White House and Congress."
— Congressman Eric Cantor, chairman, Congressional Task Force on Terrorism and Unconventional Warfare"To truly comprehend why peace in the Middle East—an end coveted for so long by so many—is becoming more and more illusive, you must read Yossef Bodansky's excellent book. An engrossing account of Israel's quest for security and peace, as well as the United States' struggle to secure its vital interests in a turbulent region,
The High Cost of Peace provides an adamantly hopeful prognosis against dire and tragic odds. I strongly recommend it."
— Brigadier General (Reserve) Yigal Pressler, deputy adviser to the Prime Minister of Israel "Bodansky has written the story that the evening news has ignored. While they've been busy blaming Israel and the United States for the violence and terrorism in the Middle East, he's been busy unearthing and documenting the intricacies of Middle Eastern terrorism."
— Congresswoman Helen Delich Bentley
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