Yasir Arafat : A Political Biography: A Political BiographyYasir Arafat stands as one of the most resilient, recognizable and controversial political figures of modern times. The object of unrelenting suspicion, steady admiration and endless speculation, Arafat has occupied the center stage of Middle East politics for almost four decades. Yasir Arafat is the most comprehensive political biography of this remarkable man. Forged in a tumultuous era of competing traditionalism, radicalism, Arab nationalism, and Islamist forces, the Palestinian movement was almost entirely Arafat's creation, and he became its leader at an early age. Arafat took it through a dizzying series of crises and defeats, often of his own making, yet also ensured that it survived, grew, and gained influence. Disavowing terrorism repeatedly, he also practiced it constantly. Arafat's elusive behavior ensured that radical regimes saw in him a comrade in arms, while moderates backed him as a potential partner in peace. After years of devotion to armed struggle, Arafat made a dramatic agreement with Israel that let him return to his claimed homeland and transformed him into a legitimized ruler. Yet at the moment of decision at the Camp David summit and afterward, when he could have achieved peace and a Palestinian state, he sacrificed the prize he had supposedly sought for the struggle he could not live without. Richly populated with the main events and dominant leaders of the Middle East, this detailed and analytical account by Barry Rubin and Judith Colp Rubin follows Arafat as he moves to Kuwait, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Tunisia, and finally to Palestinian-ruled soil. It shows him as he rewrites his origins, experiments with guerrilla war, develops a doctrine of terrorism, fights endless diplomatic battles, and builds a movement, constantly juggling states, factions, and world leaders. Whole generations and a half-dozen U.S. presidents have come and gone over the long course of Arafat's career. But Arafat has outlasted them all, spanning entire eras, with three constants always present: he has always survived, he has constantly seemed imperiled, and he has never achieved his goals. While there has been no substitute for Arafat, the authors conclude, Arafat has been no substitute for a leader who could make peace. |
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Abu Alaa Abu Iyad Abu Jihad Abu Mazin accept al-Aqsa Al-Hayat American Amman April Arab world Arafat never army August Bank and Gaza Barak Beirut Black September Cairo Camp David claimed Clinton compromise concessions December defeat delegates demanded Egypt Egyptian Fatah FBIS February fighting forces Gaza Strip goal Ha'aretz Hamas Hussein Ibid Interview Intifada Islamist Israel Israeli January Jerusalem Post Jihad Jordan Jordanian Journal of Palestine July June killed king Kuwait later leadership Lebanese Lebanon March meeting Middle East military movement Muslim Nasser negotiations Netanyahu Notes to Pages November October Oslo Agreement Palestine Report Palestine Studies Palestinian Legislative Council peace process percent Peres PFLP PLO's political prime minister Rabin Ramallah refugees rejected revolutionary Ross Rubin Saudi strategy Suha summit Syria talks terrorism terrorist attacks U.S. Embassy U.S. official United victory violence wanted Washington Post West Bank YASIR ARAFAT York