Tested by Zion: The Bush Administration and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

by Elliott Abrams

Overview

This book tells the full inside story of the Bush Administration and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Written by a top National Security Council officer who worked at the White House with Bush, Cheney, and Rice and attended dozens of meetings with figures like Sharon, Mubarak, the kings of Jordan and Saudi Arabia, and Palestinian leaders, it brings the reader inside the White House and the palaces of Middle Eastern officials. How did 9/11 change American policy toward Arafat and Sharon's tough efforts against the Second Intifada? What influence did the Saudis have on President Bush? Did the American approach change when Arafat died? How did Sharon decide to get out of Gaza, and why did the peace negotiations fail? In the first book by an administration official to focus on Bush and the Middle East, Elliott Abrams brings the story of Bush, the Israelis, and the Palestinians to life.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781107301825
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	01/14/2013
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Elliott Abrams was educated at Harvard College, Harvard Law School, and the London School of Economics and Political Science. After working on the staffs of the late Senators Henry M. Jackson and Daniel P. Moynihan, he served all eight years of the Reagan Administration as an Assistant Secretary of State and received the Secretary's Distinguished Service Award from Secretary of State George P. Shultz. Abrams is former President of the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, DC. He was a member and later chairman of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom from 1999 to 2001, and was reappointed to membership in 2012. He is currently a member of the US Holocaust Memorial Council, which directs the activities of the US Holocaust Memorial Museum. Abrams is the author or editor of six books. He served at the White House as a Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Advisor in the Administration of President George W. Bush, where he supervised US policy in the Middle East. Abrams is now a Senior Fellow for Middle Eastern Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, and teaches about US policy in the Middle East at Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service.

Table of Contents

1. Early days; 2. 9/11 and the search for a policy; 3. Roadmap to disengagement; 4. 'New realities on the ground'; 5. Arafat, disengagement, Sharon; 6. Olmert - peace or war?; 7. War in Lebanon - and Condi; 8. From Mecca to Annapolis; 9. The 'meeting' at Annapolis; 10. Final days in Gaza and Turtle Bay; 11. Lessons learned; 12. Conclusion.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“Elliott Abrams played a major role in the development of Mid-East policy during the Bush administration. He has written an excellent account that will be an invaluable source for future historians and for all who want to understand one of the most important chapters of that era.” – Richard B. Cheney, Former Vice President of the United States

“Elliott Abrams was at the epicenter of President Bush’s commitment to forge a sustainable solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Tested by Zion, Abrams’s fascinating new book, takes the reader inside the debates that took place in the Oval Office with the president and his senior advisors on Middle East peace.” – Dr. Henry Kissinger, Former United States Secretary of State

“Elliott Abrams has written the definitive insider account of the U.S.-Israeli relationship during the critical years under President George W. Bush. This fascinating, important book is a must-read for anyone who cares about the future of Israel, the U.S.-Israeli relationship, and the prospects for peace in the Middle East.” – Joseph I. Lieberman, United States Senator (Independent–Connecticut)

“Abrams’s riveting insider account of the Bush administration’s policies and actions with regard to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a must-read. Chock-full of details that are relevant not only to historians but to future policy makers, Tested by Zion is accessible, readable, and brilliantly presented. Although I don’t always agree with my former student, Elliott Abrams, I always learn from him and am proud to have been one of his teachers. This book really matters.” – Alan M. Dershowitz, Harvard Law School, Author of Trials of Zion (2010)

“Elliott Abrams has written an excellent book on a hitherto neglected aspect of Bush administration foreign policy. Meticulous and yet gripping, Tested by Zion weighs the opportunities for diplomacy against its limitations more convincingly than any other account I've seen of the recent Israeli-Palestinian relationship. Highly recommended.” – John Lewis Gaddis, Yale University

Editorial Reviews

Less burdened by the need to burnish his image and still seething at what he believes was a misguided lunge at peacemaking glory in the final months of Bush's presidency, Abrams exposes tensions, mishaps and personality conflicts that had been glossed over in earlier accounts…Some of the details…may be too much for some readers, but Tested by Zion will be catnip for anyone interested in diplomatic history or the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Abrams's account of the difficult choices faced by the administration—and the policy decisions it made—will fuel endless debate for generations of students studying international affairs.

The Washington Post - Glenn Kessler

Elliott Abrams played a major role in the development of Mid-East policy during the Bush administration. He has written an excellent account that will be an invaluable source for future historians and for all who want to understand one of the most important chapters of that era.” – Richard B. Cheney, Former Vice President of the United States

“Elliott Abrams was at the epicenter of President Bush’s commitment to forge a sustainable solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Tested by Zion, Abrams’s fascinating new book, takes the reader inside the debates that took place in the Oval Office with the president and his senior advisors on Middle East peace.” – Dr. Henry Kissinger, Former United States Secretary of State

“Elliott Abrams has written the definitive insider account of the U.S.-Israeli relationship during the critical years under President George W. Bush. This fascinating, important book is a must-read for anyone who cares about the future of Israel, the U.S.-Israeli relationship, and the prospects for peace in the Middle East.” – Joseph I. Lieberman, United States Senator (Independent–Connecticut)

“Abrams’s riveting insider account of the Bush administration’s policies and actions with regard to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a must-read. Chock-full of details that are relevant not only to historians but to future policy makers, Tested by Zion is accessible, readable, and brilliantly presented. Although I don’t always agree with my former student, Elliott Abrams, I always learn from him and am proud to have been one of his teachers. This book really matters.” – Alan M. Dershowitz, Harvard Law School, Author of Trials of Zion (2010)

“Elliott Abrams has written an excellent book on a hitherto neglected aspect of Bush administration foreign policy. Meticulous and yet gripping, Tested by Zion weighs the opportunities for diplomacy against its limitations more convincingly than any other account I've seen of the recent Israeli-Palestinian relationship. Highly recommended.” – John Lewis Gaddis, Yale University

"Mr. Abrams's book is the definitive history of the last Republican president's considerable accomplishments in the Levant." -Wall Street Journal

"The book is not only a fascinating yarn for those of us who report on or follow closely the Middle East but also a tour de force of diplomatic history which captures an era and set of characters like few books have done." -Jennifer Rubin, The Washington Post

"Israelis, Americans, and others who read Tested by Zion will gain important insights not only into the history and nature of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict but also the inner workings of American foreign policy." - Itamar Rabinovich, Jewish Review of Books

"...[TESTED BY ZION] represents the single most cogent statement of the neoconservative analysis of the Arab-Israeli conflict." Michael Doran, The Weekly Standard

"...'Tested by Zion' will be catnip for anyone interested in diplomatic history or the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Abrams’s account of the difficult choices faced by the administration — and the policy decisions it made — will fuel endless debate for generations of students studying international affairs." -Glenn Kessler, Washington Post

"From his experience as a senior adviser on the U.S. National Security Council, Abrams provides an intelligent and astonishingly detailed chronicle of the George W. Bush administration’s failed attempts at solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict." -John Waterbury, Foreign Affairs

"...Abrams’ work constitutes a very important addition to the library of books by American officials on Washington’s role in Middle East peacemaking." -Oded Eran, The Israel Journal of Foreign Affair

"...many will find Abrams's pointed criticisms and historical descriptions to be a refreshing departure from some of the more political and popular accounts of the peacemaking process, which tend to be more overtly political and pro-Israel." -Christopher J. Dolan, H-Diplo

"....detailed, frank, and perceptive account of the George W. Bush administration's involvement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict." -Nathan Thrall, New York Review of Books

"This book is a necessary addition to collections with audiences particularly interested in US foreign policy toward the Middle East and US-Israeli relations." -Sanford R. Silverburg, Catawba College, Salisbury, NC

From the Publisher