Israel and the Clash of Civilisations: Iraq, Iran and the Plan to Remake the Middle East

225 Pages·2008·0.83 MB·english

by  Jonathan Cook

Israel and the Clash of Civilisations
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Also by Jonathan Cook
Blood and Religion
The Unmasking of the Jewish and Democratic State
‘Jonathan Cook’s timely and important book on the Palestinians in
Israel is by far the most penetrating and comprehensive on the subject
to date. … This work should be required reading for policymakers and
for everyone concerned with the magnitude of the tasks confronting the
two parties and the international community.’
– Dr Nur Masalha, Senior Lecturer and Director of Holy Land
Studies; Programme Director of MA in Religion and Confl ict,
St Mary’s College, University of Surrey, and author of A Land
Without a People and The Politics of Denial
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Israel and the Clash of
Civilisations
Iraq, Iran and the Plan to Remake the Middle East
JONATHAN COOK
P
Pluto Press
LONDON (cid:127) ANN ARBOR, MI
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First published 2008 by Pluto Press
345 Archway Road, London N6 5AA
and 839 Greene Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48106
www.plutobooks.com
Copyright © Jonathan Cook 2008
The right of Jonathan Cook to be identifi ed as the author of this work
has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs
and Patents Act 1988.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN 978 0 7453 2755 6 hardback
ISBN 978 0 7453 2754 9 paperback
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data applied for

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For my parents, Keith and Elena
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CONTENTS
Preface x
1 Regime Overthrow in Iraq 1
The body count keeps growing – A war for oil – US policy
in the Gulf – Containing Saddam – The neocon vision of
the Middle East – Finding a pretext to invade – Israel’s role
behind the scenes
2 The Long Campaign Against Iran 36
The propaganda war – Israel’s fear of a nuclear rival –
US readies for a military strike – Turning the clock back
20 years in Lebanon – Evidence the war was planned
– Syria was supposed to be next – A power struggle in
Washington – Ahmadinejad: the new Hitler
3 End of the Strongmen 79
Who controls American foreign policy? – The dog and
tail wag each other – Israel’s relations with its patrons
– Sharon’s doctrine of empire – Making the Middle
East collapse
4 Remaking the Middle East 116
Neocon motives in backing Israel’s vision – The occupied
territories as a laboratory – Over the precipice and into
civil war – Iraq: a model for the region?
Notes 150
Select Bibliography 186
Index 189
vii
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