Second Semester 2004/2005

Title
Middle East Illusions: Including Peace in the Middle East? Reflections on Justice and Nationhood
Author Noam Chomsky
Call Number DS119.76.C49 2003
“What are the roots of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and how has it been influenced by the United States? Why has the U.S.-brokered ‘peace process’ repeatedly failed to deliver peace? What are the prospects for a just resolution? What interests underlie current U.S. strategic doctrines in the Middle East, especially in its redeclared ‘war on terrorism’ after 9/11, and how do we look beyond them to find more peaceful and viable alternatives? These are among the current and longstanding questions Noam Chomsky takes up in his newest book. Middle East Illusions presents recent chapters written by the author about the myths behind the peace process, the second Palestinian Intifada (which began in September 2000 and continues today in defiance of Israeli repression), and the Bush administration's response to the September 11 attacks on the United States, including its drive toward another war with Iraq.

Middle East Illusions also includes the full text of Chomsky's earlier book Peace in the Middle East? Reflections on Justice and Nationhood, written during the crucial period spanning the Six-Day and 1973 wars, events that continue to define and deeply influence the world today. Middle East Illusions therefore presents in-depth analysis covering several decades, making this book one of the richest of any analysis published about the region's geopolitics. Noam Chomsky is recognized internationally for his critical analysis of the Middle East. His thoroughly documented research draws on an immense range of sources, including Hebrew texts rarely discussed in the United States, declassified government planning documents, and other sources all too often overlooked in discussions of the U.S. role in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.” -- from the publisher

Title
The Missing Peace: The Inside Story of the Fight for Middle East Peace
Author
Dennis Ross
Call Number DS119.76.R68 2004
"In The Missing Peace, his inside story of the Middle East peace process, Dennis Ross recounts the search for enduring peace in that troubled region with unprecedented candor and insight. As the chief Middle East peace negotiator for both George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton, Ross came to be the lone figure respected by all parties to the negotiations:

Democrats and Republicans, Palestinians and Israelis, prime ministers and ordinary people of the streets of Jerusalem, Ramallah, and Washington, D.C. Ross tells the story of the peace process from 1988, when he joined the State Department under James Baker, up to the collapse of negotiations in the last days of the Clinton administration - an outcome that led Palestinians to commence a second Intifada and Israel to wage a punishing military offensive in the West Bank and Gaza. He takes us behind the scenes to see high-stakes diplomacy as it is actually conducted, recounting the round-the-clock summit meetings and secret negotiations, the stalemates and broken promises. And he explains the issues at the heart of the struggle for peace: border disputes, Israeli security, the Palestinian ‘right of return,’ and the status of Jerusalem. The Missing Peace explains why Middle East peace remains so elusive.” -- from the publisher

Title
From Oslo to Iraq and the Road Map: Essays
Author
Edward W. Said
Call Number E885.S25 2004
"In From Oslo to Iraq and the Road Map, Said writes about the second intifada and about the so-called peace process, which he terms a kind of ‘fast-food peace’ underscored by ‘malevolent sloppiness.’ He discusses the breach of democracy in the last American presidential election and describes the Bush administration as hopeless in its allegiance to the Christian right and to the big oil companies. He writes passionately against the war in Iraq and condemns the ‘road map’ as a plan not for peace but for pacification of the Palestinians. He makes clear the ways in which the U.S. response to 9/11 has further destabilized the Middle East, but finds as well reasons for hope: the Palestinian National Initiative, an organization of grassroots activists who share a burgeoning idea of democracy ‘undreamed of by the [Palestinian] Authority.’ What has always set Said apart is his ability to state the uncensored truth about the realities of the Palestinian experience, from land expropriation and dispossession, to assassinations, roadblocks, and house demolitions. In this book, Said reveals information that never finds its way into the American media, thus providing a real context for our understanding of the Middle East.” -- from the publisher

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