Danger and Opportunity
Danger and Opportunity: An American Ambassador's Journey Through the Middle East Edward Djerejian,
Publisher: Threshold Editions
ISBN: 1416554939
DDC: 327.73056
Edition: Hardcover; 2008-09-09
Summary:
When Edward P. Djerejian arrived in Beirut for his first Foreign
Service assignment, the city was a thriving metropolis, a nexus for a
diversity of religious beliefs, political ideas, and cultural
practices. More than forty years since, the broader Middle East
region is undergoing significant change in the face of a deep-rooted
con-frontation between the forces of reaction and modernity in the
rapidly growing Muslim populations. Serious deficits in education,
political participation, economic progress, and human rights are
exacerbated by unresolved conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan, and
Kashmir, and between Arabs and Israelis.Djerejian, an American
diplomat who served eight presidents, both Democratic and Republican,
from John F. Kennedy to William Jefferson Clinton, publicly shares
for the first time intimate details and colorful anecdotes of his
service in the Middle East. During his tenure, he developed close
professional relationships with many of the region's secular and
religious leaders and was a key advisor to Washington's
highest-ranking officials and political leaders. He was instrumental
in formulating U.S. policy in the region, and participated actively
in Arab-Israeli peace negotiations, the release of U.S. hostages in
Lebanon, and the formation of the U.S.-led coalition against Saddam
Hussein's invasion of Kuwait. A leading expert on the Middle East,
Djerejian asserts that Americans are confronted with one of the most
important challenges of our time: the struggle of ideas between the
forces of extremism and moderation in the Arab and Muslim world.
Mistakenly assuming that radical political ideologies fell with
communism at the end of the Cold War, policy makers are employing
insufficient strategies to promote the important political, economic,
commercial, cultural, and security interests that the United States
-- and the rest of the world -- have in the region.Djerejian explains
what has gone wrong with U.S. policy and suggests a way forward for
future admin-istrations. The United States must learn to deal with
the complex religious, ethnic, and cultural factors at play in the
Middle East. We must not impose our own political structure on the
Arab and Muslim world, but we can help marginalize the radicals and
champion a democratic way of life in conformity with the cultural
context of the region's own mainstream values and ideals. In his
captivating and illuminating book -- the only one of its kind to
address the full scope of issues that U.S. leaders face in the Middle
East -- Djerejian outlines specific coherent strategies necessary to
respond effectively to the imminent danger and dynamic opportunity
presented by the struggle within the Islamic world.
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