Michael J. Totten: Power, Faith, and Fantasy

February 02, 2007

Power, Faith, and Fantasy

When I arrived in Northern Israel during last summer’s war with Hezbollah I met famed military historian Michael Oren on the border under fire where he acted as a spokesman for the IDF Northern Command.

He told me about his forthcoming book Power, Faith, and Fantasy which is now finally available.

It is the first and only book ever written about America’s involvement in the Middle East from the founding of the republic in 1776 to the present.

I haven’t read it yet and can’t vouch for it per se. But if it’s anywhere near as good as his masterful Six Days of War, about the 1967 war where Israel acquired the West Bank and Gaza as occupied territories, it should make its way onto your list of required reading.

Oren is unabashedly pro-Israel, but amazingly even one of my Hezbollah readers recommended Six Days of War as a worthwhile read in my comments section a few months ago.

When Oren isn't meeting with reporters under fire he works at the Shalem Center in Jerusalem with Natan Sharansky, Yossi Klein Halevi, and my intrepid travel buddy Noah Pollak.

I’ll be back with more original reporting from Lebanon on Monday.

Posted by Michael J. Totten at February 2, 2007 04:28 PM

Comments

Heard him on NPR (audio file on that page) a couple days ago -- I have the book but haven't started it yet -- but it sounds like a great read. I got to meet him very briefly early last summer at a dinner -- he's a really fascinating, intense guy.

Posted by: Pam at February 2, 2007 04:50 PM

Zionist brobaganda

Posted by: Zak at February 2, 2007 07:04 PM

Oren is unabashedly pro-Israel, but amazingly even one of my Hezbollah readers recommended Six Days of War as a worthwhile read in my comments section a few months ago.

Heh. And a Palestinian friend of mine, when asked for some reading material on the history of the Arab/Zionist conflict, recommended Benny Morris' book before any others.

Posted by: double-plus-ungood at February 2, 2007 07:52 PM

DPU, any chance your Palestinian acqaintance has talked to you about the Hamas-Fatah stand-off? If so, is there anything you might relate here that might shed some more light on it from his point of view? I'd wager more than a few readers here would get much from whatever you presented.

Posted by: allan at February 2, 2007 09:19 PM

Captured

Posted by: ME at February 3, 2007 12:54 AM

The Falastin "standoff" is very complicated.

It's called a turf war. There's no ideology involved that is relevant.

It's about power and money

Posted by: ankhfkhonsu at February 3, 2007 06:56 AM

Yes, the complexity is what my request was directed toward. So many contributers here have eloquently helped to unravel the connects and disconnects in Lebanon. It was my hope that DPU's friend might be one to bring some similar insight beyond Hamas and Fatah fighting erupted today, news at 11. DPU is very good at precise wording, as well.

Posted by: allan at February 3, 2007 08:39 AM

Sorry mate.

I reference to complexity was sarcastic.

Posted by: ankhfkhonsu at February 3, 2007 09:19 AM

Here is complexity for you:

"Gaza Gunmen Ignore Truce, Mediation Bid
By KARIN LAUB
The Associated Press
Saturday, February 3, 2007; 3:09 PM

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip -- Ignoring a truce and Arab mediation offers, Hamas and Fatah fighters exchanged gunfire in upscale beachfront neighborhoods Saturday, and Hamas gunmen threatened to attack high-rise buildings unless residents force rival snipers off their rooftops......."

I can hardly wait for the indignant outcry from the cult of the so-called Left, about "war crimes".

i've heard nothing so far about the mounting Palestinian civilian deaths perpetrated by Palestinians.

Ya think there's a conspiracy going on here?

Where is green helmet?

Robert Fisk?

Galloway?

Posted by: ankhfkhonsu at February 3, 2007 12:24 PM

I liked very much Oren's Six Days of War. The Shalem center is doing a great job renovating Jewish and Zionist culture.

Now just refusing your country to be destroyed is to be unabashedly pro-Israel. I mean, we are at war, MJT. What do you expect Oren to be? pro-Lebanon? pro-Syria?

Best,
Fabian

Posted by: Fabian from Israel at February 3, 2007 12:40 PM

Fabian: Now just refusing your country to be destroyed is to be unabashedly pro-Israel

I just wanted to point out that even a Hezbollah reader liked the book and it's not because Oren is an anti-Israel Israeli.

I couldn't mention the Hezbollah testimonial without also making it clear that Oren isn't some deranged far-leftist.

Posted by: Michael J. Totten at February 3, 2007 12:44 PM

Oren is a great writer, and well researched. I sure hope this book will be worth a read...

Posted by: Jeha at February 3, 2007 02:45 PM

So you are a bookworm too eh MJT? Have read Oren's Six Days of War and have this new book also. But haven't had time to get to it because I am currently researching Edward Said's misuse of the rare literary classic Oriental Renaissance by the French intellectual Raymond Scwab. This book is impossible to find almost because it was written in French and not translated and re-published until 1984 by Columbia University.

For those people writing in the forum about how Oren's book is zionist propaganda, historians challenge you to provide the West with historical documentations from the archives of any Arab country! If you provide us with historical sources we will be happy to promote those documents in a history book. The problem is that there are no history books written by Arabs, only propaganda. Historians have no use of propaganda, except for a book about historical propaganda. The only country that allows research is Lebanon. So how about it? Post a bibliography of books and official documents on the web instead of complaining about zionist propaganda and let us decide how accurate those documents are.

Oren is a very objective historian and deserves high praise for historical accuracy. Name an Arab writer besides Fouad Ajami who is well respected for objectivity and accuracy, because I can only refer to a handful.

Posted by: James Just at February 3, 2007 10:08 PM

Related.

Posted by: Barry Meislin at February 4, 2007 03:07 AM

For books about the Six Day War, I recommend Theodore Draper's book which came out in 1968 or 1969, as I recall. Can't recall the name offhand.

As for the subject matter of Oren's latest book, Frank Manuel covered part of it in his "America-Palestine Relations" published about 1947.

On Israel's War of Independence, I recommend From Cairo to Damascus [or simply Cairo to Damascus?] by John Roy Carlson, pen name of the Armenian-American journalist, Avedis Derounian.

Lastly, I don't agree with MJT's labelling of Judea-Samaria as "occupied." "Occupation" is a concept in international law and it does not fit Judea-Samaria which were part of the Jewish National Home juridically erected by the San Remo Conference in 1920, endorsed by the League of Nations in 1922, confirmed by the UN charter in Article 80, and not altered by the UN General Assembly partition recommendation of 29 November 1947. According to the UN charter, all General Assembly resolutions on political issues are merely recommendations [see Articles 10 to 12]. Further, the armistice agreements of 1949 between Israel and Arab states were not peace accords and did NOT establish borders. Arab diplomats speaking at the UN often attested to this before the Six Day War.

Posted by: Eliyahu at February 4, 2007 05:03 AM

Elyahu: it is "disputed", ok, but the problem is that the majority of the population living there feels that it is "occupied". Therefore, it is, and there is nothing (short of expelling them) to do about it.

Best,
Fabian

Posted by: Fabian from Israel at February 4, 2007 05:54 AM

MJT: ok. Understood. Sorry.
Best,
Fabian

Posted by: Fabian from Israel at February 4, 2007 05:54 AM

(he says he has a recurring nightmare where he wakes up and is the prime minister of Israel)

That would give anyone cold sweats! Only thing worse might be to dream you are the leader of of Gaza.

Nice link, Barry Meislin. Thanks.

Posted by: Pam at February 4, 2007 08:37 AM

Fabian: Now just refusing your country to be destroyed is to be unabashedly pro-Israel. I mean, we are at war, MJT. What do you expect Oren to be? pro-Lebanon? pro-Syria?

Exactly my thought when I read MJT's words. It's a sad fact that "pro-Israel" has come to mean "anti-genocide", and "anti-Israel" means the opposite. What other nation has to live under such a stark existential language and intentions? None that I know of.

Posted by: Li'l Mamzer at February 4, 2007 10:33 AM

A fascinating book on the transition of the Levant from Byzantium to Islam is the book by Nadia Maria El Cheikh and the title is "Byzantium Viewed by the Arabs." London: Harvard University Press, 2004. A scholarly work if there ever was one about the Islamic world and written by a Lebanese woman.

Posted by: James Just at February 4, 2007 01:11 PM

It's unfortunate that to be pro-Zionist, has come to mean pro-Israel, has come to be anti-Palestinian Arab. All to further a separatist anti-native ideology and engineer a false and self-defeating demographic. But Michael Oren writes so well it's almost heroic.

Posted by: The Other Alan at February 4, 2007 04:04 PM

The Other Alan: It's unfortunate that to be pro-Zionist, has come to mean pro-Israel

Oh jeeeez.....here we go again.
Alan - it's axiomatic. Zionism IS the belief and support of and for the one and only homeland of the Jewish nation. It's called Israel, and the two are inseparable, as much as you would like to believe otherwise, just get over it. And Zionism and Arab nationalism, even Palestinian Arab nationalism aren't necessarily mutually exclusive. It's called the Two State Solution. It may be a bad idea to give the Pal Arabs their own state right now or ever, maybe, but that's really up to them, isn't it?

Posted by: Li'l Mamzer at February 4, 2007 08:15 PM

It's unfortunate that to be pro-Zionist, has come to mean pro-Israel

It hasn't "come to mean" pro-Israel, it's always meant pro-Israel. Nothing unfortunate about it.

What other nation has to live under such a stark existential language and intentions? None that I know of.

No other nation is quite as surrounded by a sea of Islam. They don't take too well to uppity kuffars.

Posted by: Carlos at February 4, 2007 09:43 PM

Michael,
I have been reading reports about the various the various preparations for the 2nd anniversary of the Hariri assassination. According to these reports weaponry is flooding in both to HA via Damascus and to the sunni side (financed mainly by the Saudi's). As "proof", prices for a used AK-47 have tripled.
Can you corroborate this and what's your best guess for the next week or so?
Regards

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