Divide and Perish.

• Author: Mattox, Henry E.
• Position: Book review

Divide and Perish

Reviewed by Henry E. Mattox

Curtis F. Jones, Divide and Perish: The Geopolitics of the Middle East, 2nd Edition, AuthorHouse, Bloomington, Indiana, 2010, ISBN-1449009034, 542 pp.

This is a second, revised edition of Jones' comprehensive and thoughtful, if sometimes controversial, work on the Middle East. The book was first published in 2007. In that regard, one can do worse than to read or reread Norville DeAtkine's thoughtful earlier review in this journal at: http://www.unc.edu/depts/diplomat/item/2007/0709/book/book_deatkine.html

DeAtkine essentially faults the author for his negativity concerning Arab--mainly Palestinian--policies and actions in the area, while at the same time citing little in the way of positive actions on the part of Israel. It is, in Jones' view and interpretation, a win-lose, lose-win confrontation, geographically and policy-wise, in the region.

The author does not simply lay out criticism of the actions undertaken over the decades by regional regimes or by foreign interests--the United States, principally. Jones, a retired Foreign Service specialist in the Middle East and a scholar of the region since returning to residence in the United States, finds fault that can be apportioned to various sides of regional conflicts of interest. The United States figures prominently in Jones' apportionment of blame for the seemingly constant deadly turmoil in the region. And, while blaming Washington and Tel Aviv for much of the conflict, Jones spares no one involved in the Middle East. It is an area of turmoil that has sufficient blame to go...