Decade of Decisions; American Policy Toward the Arab-Israeli Conflict, 1967-1976

Berkeley: University Of California Press, 1977. First Printing [Stated]. Trade paperback. Good. viii, 313, [1] pages. Maps. Bibliography. Index. Cover is soiled, stained and worn. William B. Quandt (born November 23, 1941) is an American scholar, author, and professor emeritus in the Department of Politics at the University of Virginia. He previously served as senior fellow in the Foreign Policy Studies Program at the Brookings Institution and as a member on the National Security Council in the Richard Nixon and Jimmy Carter administrations. He was actively involved in the negotiations that led to the Camp David Accords and the Egypt-Israel peace treaty. His areas of expertise include Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Palestine, the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, and U.S. foreign policy. From 1987 to 1988, William Quandt was president of the Middle East Studies Association, a learned society. He joined the Department of Politics at the University of Virginia in 1994, where he held the departmental Edward R. Stettinius chair. He taught courses on the Middle East and American Foreign Policy. From 2000 to 2003, he also served as their Vice Provost for International Affairs. In 2004, he was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. After the fall semester of 2012, Quandt retired from his teaching career at UVa. Professor Schulhofer-Wohl, his replacement, commended his legacy by point out that "more than 200 students take [his class] every year, and that's clearly due in no small part to Dr. Quandt and what he brings to it. It's an amazing opportunity for me to be able to work so closely with such a distinguished scholar in this way. I don't think many people have that kind of chance." On four occasions since 1967 the Middle East has been the scene of acute international crises: the June 1967 Arab-Israeli War, the Jordan crisis of September 1970, the October 1973 war, and the Lebanese civil war of 1975-1976. Except for the latter case, in each instance the United States was deeply drawn into the crisis, with serious consequences for US-Soviet relations as well as for the Middle East. Mr. Quandt analyzes the formulation of American policy toward the Arab-Israeli conflict, with emphasis on the role of crisis in shaping the views of policy makers and the importance of Presidential leadership in translating general principles into concrete decisions. Both the process of decision making and the substance of policy during the decade following the 1967 war receive central attention. One conclusion drawn from the study is that American policy makers have at times overestimated the centrality of the global setting in dealing with Middle east crises, often at the expense of an accurate understanding of regions developments. If the United States is to play an effective part in promoting a resolution of the Arab-Israeli conflict, careful attention will have to be paid to the views and policies of the parties most directly involved.