MYTHS , ILLUSIONS,AND PEACE Hardback - 2009

de Ross, Dennis; Makovsky, David

Two experts debunkmisconceptions about theMiddle East and set clear-eyedpolicies for the future

Why has the United States consistently failedto achieve its strategic goals in the Middle East?According to Dennis Ross and David Makovsky,two of America's leading experts on the region, it isbecause we have been laboring under false assumptions,or mythologies, about the nature and motivationof Middle East countries and their leaders. In Myths,Illusions, and Peace, the authors debunk these damagingfallacies, held by both the right and the left, andpresent a concise and far-reaching set of principles thatwill help America set an effective course of action inthe region.

Among the myths that the authors show to be falseand even dangerous is the idea that Israeli-Palestinianpeace is the key to solving all the Middle East's problems;that regime change is a prerequisite for peace anddemocracy; and that Iran's leadership is immune fromdiplomatic and economic pressure.

These and other historic misunderstandings havegenerated years' worth of failed policies and crippledAmerica's ability to make productive decisions in thisvolatile part of the world, a region that will hold thekey to our security in the twenty-first century. Rossand Makovsky offer a critical rethinking of Americanperceptions at a time of great import and change.