Format:
Book
Title:
Twin pillars to Desert Storm : America's flawed vision in the Middle East from Nixon to Bush / Howard Teicher and Gayle Radley Teicher.
Author:
Teicher, Howard.
Call Number:
327.73056 T233tw
Publisher, Date:
New York : William Morrow and Co., 1993.
Description:
418 p. : ill. ; 24 cm.
Summary:
"Twin Pillars to Desert Storm is an insider's account of U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East. The book explains how Presidents Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, and Bush relied on a flawed vision to protect American interests, a vision that eventually led the United States to go to war against its erstwhile ally Iraq in Operation Desert Storm."--BOOK JACKET. "Interweaving fascinating revelations and Howard Teicher's own extraordinary experiences working for the U.S. government with key events in Washington and the Middle East, the authors show how traditional competition for influence with the Soviet Union and the need to maintain Western access to Middle Eastern oil led America to rely on the twin pillars of Iran and Saudi Arabia to protect vital interests following the withdrawal of Great Britain from the Persian Gulf in 1971."--BOOK JACKET. "With the collapse of the Iranian pillar in 1979, Washington tried to woo Baghdad away from its close relationship with the Soviet Union, hoping that Iraq could serve as a bulwark against the anti-Western Islamic fundamentalism of Ayatollah Khomeini. But just as the experts failed to anticipate the Iranian revolution and the collapse of U.S. policy, so too did they ignore the ruthless nature and stated ambitions of Saddam Hussein."--BOOK JACKET. "As Middle East radicals waged unconventional warfare against the United Stages through state-sponsored terrorism in Lebanon and elsewhere, the debate in Washington over U.S.-Israeli relations and the proper role of military power escalated to a fierce and acrimonious struggle between the secretaries of state and defense. The ensuing policy gridlock led to the Iran-contra scandal and a sudden epidemic of "forgetfulness," which spread through the offices of the president, vice president, and the Departments of State and Defense. Anxious to limit the damage to America's position in the Arab world, and despite Baghdad's use of chemical weapons against Iraqi Kurds and its attack on the U.S.S. Stark, the administrations of Ronald Reagan and George Bush embraced Saddam Hussein and directed the national security bureaucracy to strengthen Iraq. The inevitable result of this flawed vision was Iraq's invasion of Kuwait and Operation Desert Storm."--BOOK JACKET.
Subjects:
Teicher, Howard.
Middle East -- Foreign relations -- United States.
United States -- Foreign relations -- Middle East.
United States -- Foreign relations -- 1945-1953.
United States -- Foreign relations -- 1945-1989.
Contents:
Ch. 1. Twin Pillars. There Is No Internal Instability in Iran. F-15s for Saudi Arabia -- Ch. 2. The Iranian Pillar Crumbles. The Skonk Works. A Toothless Gesture. Can I Please Get My Tanks Back? I Gave at the Office. A Historic Treaty of Peace. Teicher al-Tikriti -- Ch. 3. Over the Horizon. Peacekeepers in Sinai. Out of Sight and Out of Mind. The Camels of Masirah Island. The Next Pope Doesn't Need to Be a Catholic. A Discreet and Cautious Dialogue -- Ch. 4. War in the Gulf. A Policy of Contradictions. The Eye of the Goat -- Ch. 5. A Change in Direction. An Arabic Speaker. Don't Let Facts Get in the Way. You Can Be Certain the Job Will Never Be Boring -- Ch. 6. Strategic Consensus. Conventional Wisdom. Shoot-Down in the Gulf of Sidra. The Barrages. Strategic Cooperation with Israel. Sadat Is Assassinated -- Ch. 7. The National Security Council. More in Sorrow Than in Anger. Think Creatively. The Taba Shuffle -- Ch. 8. War by Any Other Name. A Distinction with a Difference. Putting Teeth into the Message. Filling the Gap. A Multinational Force. Last In, First Out -- Ch. 9. A Peaceful Presence. Assad Gave Me His Word. Do Not Lock or Load. Improving Relations with Israel. But We Must Have Revenge. The Sour Commentary -- Ch. 10. Help Them Make Peace. The Bermuda Triangle. Short of Breath. Aggressive Self-defense. Unfinished Business. Only When They Die -- Ch. 11. A Failure of Presidential Leadership. A New Presidential Envoy. Perfidy. Strategic Cooperation with Israel, Part II. To Tilt or Not to Tilt. Rules of Engagement. The Guns of the New Jersey. A Pearl-Handled Revolver. Stay the Course. No Reverse Gears -- Ch. 12. Taking the Bark Off the Tree. The Enemy of My Enemy Is My Friend. Unambiguous Instructions. Hamlet of Nations. Rat Patrols. Weinberger Has Forgotten More Than You Will Ever Know. The Truth No Longer Mattered. Then It Will Be on My Conscience -- Ch. 13. Marrakech to Bangladesh. The Conundrum. If Only You Were Older. TWA 847. Achille Lauro. The Line of Death. What Goes Around Comes Around. Disproportionate Response. Disinformation -- Ch. 14. The Iran Affair - Taking It Personally. The Trip. Free Fall. The NSC Is No Different from the FTC. Media Terrorism. The April Surprise. Aren't You Dead Yet? -- Ch. 15. Desert Storm. Reflagging. How Absurd. Flawed Vision.
ISBN:
0688112544