Indecision points : George W. Bush and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict

245 Pages·2014·1.82 MB·English

by  Bush

Indecision Points
The Belfer Center Studies in International Security book series is edited at the
Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at the Harvard Kennedy
School and is published by The MIT Press. The series publishes books on con-
temporary issues in international security policy, as well as their conceptual
and historical foundations. Topics of particular interest to the series include
the spread of weapons of mass destruction, internal conflict, the international
effects of democracy and democratization, and U.S. defense policy. A complete
list of Belfer Center Studies appears at the back of this volume.
Indecision Points
George W. Bush and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
Daniel E. Zoughbie
BELFER CENTER STUDIES IN INTERNATIONAL SECURITY
The MIT Press
Cambridge, Massachusetts
London, England
© 2014 Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any format by any electronic or
mechanical means (including photocopying, recording, or information storage and retrieval)
without permission in writing from the publisher. For more information, contact The MIT
Press, One Rogers Street, Cambridge, MA 02142.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Zoughbie, Daniel, 1984–
Indecision points : George W. Bush and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict / Daniel E. Zoughbie,
Belfer Center Studies in International Security.
pages cm. — (Belfer Center studies in international security)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-262-02733-5 (hardcover : alk. paper)
1. Arab–Israeli conflict—1993—Peace. 2. Arab–Israeli conflict—1993—Diplomatic his-
tory. 3. Bush, George W. (George Walker), 1946– 4. United States—Foreign relations—
Middle East. 5. Middle East—Foreign relations—United States. 6. United States—Foreign
relations—2001–2009. I. Title.
DS119.76.Z68 2014
956.05’4—dc23
2014012461
To my mother and father
...AND THE TRUTH SHALL MAKE US FREE.

C O N T E N T S
Acknowledgments
ix
C H A P T E R 1
Introduction
1
C H A P T E R 2
A World Transformed
9
C H A P T E R 3
The Rose Garden and the Road Map
33
C H A P T E R 4
Politicide as Sequence
55
C H A P T E R 5
The Lost Year
77
C H A P T E R 6
A New Middle East
97
vii
viii Indecision Points
C H A P T E R 7
A Requiem for Liberty
119
C H A P T E R 8
Conclusion
143
Notes
149
Selected Bibliography
199
List of Interviews
213
About the Author
219
Index
221
List of Belfer Center Studies in International Affairs
229
About the Belfer Center for Science and
International Affairs
232
A C K N O W L E D G M E N T S
I
n a world that once again appears to be moving toward all
sorts of terrible fanaticisms, with nuclear and chemical weapons programs in play,
extremist militants flooding destabilized states, and chronic volatility threatening to
disrupt regional and international economic stability, one cannot afford to ignore
the relevance of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict for international affairs. The central
aim of this book is to provide an explanation for changing U.S. policy toward the
conflict during one of the most consequential periods in contemporary world his-
tory, and in doing so, to uncover the assumptions that shaped it. The book, and
the thesis from which it eventuated, has evolved through many conversations with
my doctoral supervisor at Oxford, Avi Shlaim, who, with tremendous knowledge,
wisdom, and understanding, lighted my way. For his steadfast support and incisive
criticism of my work, I must register my heartfelt gratitude; that it may still contain
imperfections is something for which I am wholly responsible.
I’m grateful to Sean Lynn-Jones and Karen Motley, who provided excellent
feedback on the entire book manuscript. I thank Graham Allison, Stephen Walt,
Steven Miller, Susan Lynch, and the Belfer Center for Science and International
Affairs at the Harvard Kennedy School. I am also indebted to Nezar AlSayyad and
Emily Gottreich at the Center for Middle Eastern Studies and the Sultan Program
at the University of California, Berkeley, and Larry Diamond and Lina Khatib at
Stanford University’s Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law
for providing me with a community of support as I executed the many facets of
this book project.
The faculty and staff of Exeter College, the Middle East Centre, and the De-
partment of Politics and International Relations made Oxford a warm and stimulat-
ing intellectual home for me as I completed the doctoral research upon which this
book is based. In particular, I wish to thank Yuen Foong Khong, Raffaella Del Sarto,
ix