Treacherous alliance : the secret dealings of Israel, Iran, and the United States / Trita Parsi.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Parsi, Trita.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

International relations.

Iran--Foreign relations--Israel.

Iran.

Israel--Foreign relations--Iran.

Israel.

United States--Foreign relations--Middle East.

United States.

Middle East--Foreign relations--United States.

Middle East.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (382 p.)

Place of Publication:

New Haven : Yale University Press, c2007.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

In this era of superheated rhetoric and vitriolic exchanges between the leaders of Iran and Israel, the threat of nuclear violence looms. But the real roots of the enmity between the two nations mystify Washington policymakers, and no promising pathways to peace have emerged. This book traces the shifting relations among Israel, Iran, and the United States from 1948 to the present, uncovering for the first time the details of secret alliances, treacherous acts, and unsavory political maneuverings that have undermined Middle Eastern stability and disrupted U.S. foreign policy initiatives in the region. Trita Parsi, a U.S. foreign policy expert with more than a decade of experience, is the only writer who has had access to senior American, Iranian, and Israeli decision makers. He dissects the complicated triangular relations of their countries, arguing that America's hope for stability in Iraq and for peace in Israel is futile without a correct understanding of the Israeli-Iranian rivalry. Parsi's behind-the-scenes revelations about Middle East events will surprise even the most knowledgeable readers: Iran's prime minister asks Israel to assassinate Khomeini, Israel reaches out to Saddam Hussein after the Gulf War, the United States foils Iran's plan to withdraw support from Hamas and Hezbollah, and more. This book not only revises our understanding of the Middle East's recent past, it also spells out a course for the future. In today's belligerent world, few topics, if any, could be more important.

Contents:

Front matter

CONTENTS

PREFACE

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

1 Introduction: An Eight-Hundred-Pound Gorilla

2 An Alliance of Necessity: The Secret Friendship of the Shah

3 Rise of Israel, Rise of Iran

4 Iran's Quest for Supremacy

5 Sealing Demise in the Moment of Triumph

6 Megalomania

7 The Rise of Begin and the Israeli Right

8 Enter the Sign of God

9 Ideological Shifts, Geopolitical Continuities

10 Saddam Attacks!

11 Scandal

12 The Dying Gasp of the Periphery Doctrine

13 The New World Order

14 Trading Enemies

15 From Cold Peace to Cold War

16 With Likud, the Periphery Doctrine Returns

17 Khatami's Détente

18 Betrayal in Afghanistan

19 Snatching Defeat from the Jaws of Victory

20. Facing the Future, Facing Reality

Notes

Appendix A: Iran's May 2003 Negotiation Proposal to the United States

Appendix B: Original U.S. Draft Negotiation Proposal

Appendix C: Letter from Ambassador Guldimann to the U.S. State Department

Index

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 285-339) and index.

ISBN:

1-281-72880-2

9786611728809

0-300-13806-7

OCLC:

923591113