Sandstorm: Middle East Conflicts and America

by Daniel Pipes

As one of the world's most volatile areas, the Middle East receives disproportionate media coverage. But this coverage almost invariably presents the events of the day without providing the context needed to understand the implications and meaning of those events. The eighteen articles in this volume, which originally appeared in Orbis: A Journal of World Affairs in 1990 and 1991, provide insight into the context of Middle Eastern events. Arab politics, the Arab-Israeli conflict, the Persian Gulf, and U.S. policy are examined in detail. The main themes covered are security issues such as wars, terrorism, and hostage-taking, and attitudes, including public opinion in Lebanon and the United States and the Israeli security dilemma. Co-published with the Foreign Policy Research Institute.

422 pages, Hardcover

First published January 28, 1993

About the author

Daniel Pipes (born September 9, 1949) is an American historian, writer, and political commentator. He is the president of the Middle East Forum, and publisher of its Middle East Quarterly journal. His writing focuses on the American foreign policy and the Middle East. He is also an Expert at Wikistrat.

After graduating with a PhD from Harvard and studying abroad, Pipes taught at a number of universities. He then served as director of the Foreign Policy Research Institute, before founding the Middle East Forum. His 2003 nomination by U.S. President George W. Bush to the board of directors of the U.S. Institute of Peace was protested by Islamists, Arab-American groups, and Democratic leaders, who cited his oft-stated belief that victory is the most effective way to terminate conflict. The Bush administration sidestepped the opposition with a recess appointment.

Pipes has written a dozen books, and served as an adviser to Rudolph Giuliani's 2008 presidential campaign. He was in 2008-11 the Taube Distinguished Visiting Fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution.

(Wikipedia)