America's Misadventures in the Middle East

Overview

Ambassador Chas W. Freeman Jr. is one of America's most brilliant, experienced—and witty—diplomats. America's Misadventures starts with his previously unpublished reflection on Pres. George H. W. Bush's handling of the Iraq-Kuwait crisis of 1990-91. (He was U.S. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia at the time.) In the thoughtful essays that follow, Freeman reflects on the origins of Washington's many intelligence failures in the Middle East, "the American way of war", and Washington's failure in recent decades to plan for a stable political end-state for the wars it has so cavalierly launched. As Prof. William B. Quandt notes in his Foreword: there is much to learn about "old-style" diplomacy here, and much to regret that Freeman's views seem so "radical" from the perspective of today's highly politicized discourse about this crucial region.

Author Biography

Ambassador Chas W. Freeman, Jr. served for three decades as a U.S. diplomat, completing his government service with a term as Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs. In the course of his very distinguished career, he was Pres. Nixon's translator during Nixon's breakthrough visit to Beijing; he was U.S. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm; and he negotiated (in Spanish) with Fidel Castro the deal that resulted in the withdrawal of thousands of Cuban forces from Angola. Since his retirement, Freeman has continued to offer his insight and analysis on issues of international relations and U.S. foreign policy.