BUY Our Last Best Chance: The Pursuit of Peace in a Time of Peril
http://nationalinterest.org/commentary/king-abdullah-time-running-out-arab-israeli-peace-5146
King Abdullah: Time is Running Out for Arab-Israeli Peace
Bruce RiedelKing Abdullah II of Jordan, like the rest of us, was apparently surprised by this winter’s eruption of political dissent in the Arab world. His just published autobiography, Our Last Best Chance: the Pursuit of Peace in a Time of Peril, warns that upheaval and war is coming to the Middle East if the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is not resolved by a just and fair peace, but does not prepare the reader for the revolutions that swept Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Yemen, Bahrain and the rest of the Arab world this winter and spring. That is not a criticism—no one else saw it coming either. Rather it is a reflection on just how volatile and unpredictable the region is today and a reason why the king’s message is so important and timely. Without peace, the revolutions and violence sweeping Arabia today are all too likely to be exploited by the most extreme elements in the Islamic world—like al-Qaeda—and could turn 2011’s hope into despair.
The book is both an autobiography and a call to action. As autobiography it is a fascinating glimpse into the lives of not just King Abdullah and Queen Rania but of his father, Hussein, as well. Hussein sought to shield his oldest son from the glare and attention that royalty brings while also preparing him for his royal duties. So Abdullah spent much of his childhood being educated in the UK and USA. He expected to spend his life in the army since his uncle, Hassan, was Crown Prince for three decades and was expected to succeed his brother. Instead Hussein almost on his death bed made Abdullah king. King Abdullah has sought to build in Jordan a school that would give today’s young Jordanians the same quality of education that he got in America in his youth.
For more than a decade after acceding to the throne Abdullah has guided his small country through the tempest of terror and wars. He recounts his many interactions with three American presidents along the way. Bill Clinton gets credit for trying at Camp David and other summits to make peace. George Bush fares less well. Always polite and reserved, Abdullah nonetheless paints a picture of the 43rd President as a man who just did not get what the King tried tirelessly to tell him— a peace agreement between Arabs and Israelis is not just good for them but a national security imperative for America and the world. Without peace, al Qaeda and other extremists feed on the anger and frustration a billion and a half Muslims feel about Israel and how it treats the Palestinian people....READ MORE
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