Asad: The Struggle for the Middle East

Description

British journalist Seale (The Struggle for Syria) here fashions a political portrait of President Hafiz al-Asad that emphasizes his patience, caution and courage without obscuring his conspiratorial past or his selective ruthlessness. He describes Asad's rise from peasant origins to national leadership in a bloodless coup, analyzes the view from Damascus of Syria's role in the wars with Israel and Asad's continuing efforts to block piecemeal settlements with Israel by other Arab countries. Double-crossed, according to Seale, by his Egyptian partner Anwar Sadat during the 1973 October War, Asad was then "duped" by Henry Kissinger's shuttle diplomacy and "robbed" of the fruits of the war. Asad is quoted as claiming that his goal is not Syrian supremacy but a balance of power, and that a fair peace will come about only when the Arabs achieve strategic parity with the Jewish state. An admiring but not uncritical biography of Israel's most dangerous enemy, this book sheds light on an enigmatic leader. Contents Preface 1. Coming Down the Mountain 2. The French Legacy 3. Party School and Army College 4. The Peasants’ Revolt 5. The Cairo Conspiracy 6. Capturing the State 7. Capturing the Party 8. Blindly to the Brink The eve of war 9. The Six Day Walkover 10. The Fight to the Top 11. The Black September Fiasco The Jordan crisis The seizure of power 12. Asad's State 13. Sadat, the Unsound Ally 14. The October Illusion 15. Duel with Henry Kissinger 16.1975: The Year Things Fell Apart 17. The Lebanese Trap 18. Jimmy Carter’s False Dawn 19. The Enemy Within 20. Standing Alone 21. Ally of the Ayatollah 22. Battle with Menachem Begin 23. The Defeat of George Shultz 24. The Brothers’ War 25. Forging a Nation 26. Dirty Tricks 27. Conclusions: the Balance Sheet Notes Index Select Bibliography