In “Jordan and America”, long-time Middle East expert
Bruce Riedel tells the remarkable story of the relationship between the Kingdom of
Jordan and the US and how their leaders have navigated the politics of the most
volatile region in the world.
اضافة اعلان
Jordan has been an important US ally for more than 70 years,
thanks largely to two members of the Hashemite family: His Majesty the late
King Hussein, who came to power at the age of 17 in 1952 and governed for
nearly a half century, and his son
King Abdullah II, who inherited the throne
in 1999. Both survived numerous assassination attempts, wars, and plots by
their many enemies. Both ruled with a firm hand but without engaging in the
dictatorial extremes so common to the Middle East.
US presidents from Eisenhower to
Biden have worked closely
with the two Hashemite kings to maintain peace and stability in the region —
when possible. The relationship has often been rocky, punctuated by numerous
crises, but in the end, it has endured and thrived.
Bruce Riedel narrates the history of the
US-Jordanian relationship from the vantage point of his own role in its shaping and with his
characteristic insight and eye for telling detail. For anyone interested in the
region, understanding this story will provide new insights into the
Arab-Israeli conflict, the multiple Persian Gulf wars, and the endless quest to
bring long-term peace and stability to the region.
Bruce Riedel is a senior fellow and director of the
Brookings Intelligence Project, part of the Brookings Center for 21st Century
Security and Intelligence. In addition, Riedel serves as a senior fellow in the
Center for Middle East Policy. He retired in 2006 after 30 years of service at
the Central Intelligence Agency, including postings overseas. He was a senior
advisor on South Asia and the Middle East to four presidents of the US in the
staff of the National Security Council at the
White House. He was also deputy
assistant secretary of defense for the Near East and South Asia at the Pentagon
and a senior advisor at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in Brussels.
Riedel was a member of President
Bill Clinton’s peace
process team and negotiated at Camp David and other Arab-Israeli summits and he
organized Clinton’s trip to India in 2000. In January 2009, President Barack
Obama asked him to chair a review of American policy towards Afghanistan and
Pakistan, the results of which the president announced in a speech on March 27,
2009.
In 2011, Riedel served as an expert advisor to the prosecution
of Al-Qaeda terrorist Omar Farooq Abdulmutallab in Detroit. In December 2011,
Prime Minister David Cameron asked him to brief the UK’s National Security
Council in London on Pakistan.
Reviews
“A thoughtful, vivid, and elegantly written account of relations
between the US and Jordan over the last seven decades, from one of the finest
Middle East specialists and public servants of his generation. Bruce Riedel
makes history come alive, drawing on his own experiences to illuminate a
crucial partnership, and the personalities who animate it.” — William J. Burns,
director of the
Central Intelligence Agency; former president, Carnegie
Endowment for International Peace
“Bruce Riedel had me riveted from page one in this fantastic
telling of the modern history of Jordan and of the post-World War II Middle
East through the prism of the Hashemites. ... All of this Riedel describes with
his amazing firsthand experiences and personal relationships, and with his
characteristic brilliance. I have devoured every one of his outstanding books
and this is the best of all. If it does not wind up a Netflix series, someone
in Hollywood is asleep at the wheel.” — Michael O’Hanlon, senior fellow, the
Brookings Institution.
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