The Passionate Attachment; America's Involvement with Israel, 1947 to the Present
New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1992. First Printing [Stated]. Hardcover. 382, [2] pages. Maps. Tables. Notes. Index. DJ has some wear, soiling, and tears. Some edge soiling. George Wildman Ball (December 21, 1909 – May 26, 1994) was an American diplomat and banker. During 1944 and 1945, he was director of the Strategic Bombing Survey in London. He served in the management of the State Department from 1961 to 1966 and is remembered most as the only major dissenter against the escalation of the Vietnam War. He refused to publicize his doubts, which were based on calculations that South Vietnam was doomed. He also helped determine American policy regarding trade expansion, Congo, the Multilateral Force, de Gaulle's France, Israel and the Middle East, and the Iranian revolution. Ball also served as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations from June 26 to September 25, 1968. During August 1968 at the UN Security Council, he endorsed the Czechoslovaks' struggle against the Soviet invasion and their right to live without dictatorship. Derived from a Kirkus review: An indictment that claims that America's political, military, and economic ties to Israel have obstructed the path to peace and run counter to both countries' interests. The authors--father George, a former undersecretary of state, and son Douglas--charge that Israeli leaders, through much of their nation's history, have subjected the American government to ``a mirage of untruths and bureaucratic obfuscation.'' Except for Eisenhower, US Presidents have backed off from pressuring this US ally after initial protests against settlement policy or lack of military restraint. The authors' balance-scale sometimes seems unfairly stacked here: Arab terrorism, briefly mentioned, is labeled self-defeating, while Israeli attacks, explored in depth, are deemed attempts to wrest a people of their land, in violation of international law. The Balls score points in arguing that America's ``passionate attachment'' is imposing mounting costs, both fiscal and moral. The Jonathan Pollard spy case, Israel's 1967 attack on the Liberty, and the nation's legal treatment of Arabs in the occupied territories are shocking. A frequently convincing call for a new Middle East diplomacy. Condition: Very good / Good.
Keywords: Israel, Zionism, Jews, Palestine Liberation, Terrorism, AIPAC, Arab-Israeli, Menachem Begin, Lebanon, Occupied Territories, PLO, Six-Day War, United Nations, West Bank
ISBN: 0393029336
[Book #77387]
Price: $45.00