Dangerous Liaison: The Inside Story of the U.S.-Israeli Covert Relationship - Hardcover

Cockburn, Andrew; Cockburn, Leslie

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0060164441 ISBN 13: 9780060164447

Publisher: Harpercollins, 1991

Synopsis

Relates the history of cooperation between U.S. and Israeli intelligence services

About this title

From Kirkus Reviews

A critical, impressively researched history of US-Israeli relations by Andrew (The Threat: Inside the Soviet Military Machine, 1983) and Leslie (Out of Control, 1987, not reviewed) Cockburn. Coming in the wake of the Gulf War, the Intifada, the Pollard espionage debacle, and the Bush Administration's somewhat revisionist attitude toward Israel, the authors' study is more than timely. Beginning with a brief, unsentimental version of Israeli history that has little in common with the establishment line, the two outline the forces, attitudes, and personalities that shaped the creation of that country and its formidable intelligence service, Mossad. From this grows the carefully crafted thesis that Mossad's most significant achievement has been the development of an enduring entente with the US via intelligence rather than conventional channels, the whole conceived by the legendary Reuven Shiloah and accepted by David Ben-Gurion. The authors also contend that rather than avoid the use of diaspora Jews in the gathering of intelligence, Mossad has heavily and successfully relied on them, as in the case of the Pollards. The direct connection between the Lehi terrorist group, the assassination of Count Bernadotte (instrumental in getting Jews out of Europe in WW II), and Shamir is explicated in detail, along with an Israeli entrepreneur's involvement in supplying Chinese ballistic missiles to Saudi Arabia. Current Israeli cat's-paw activities on behalf of the CIA and involvement in US domestic affairs, including presidential elections, are also revealed, with somewhat less perspective. This is no thrown-together post-Gulf product, but an unflinching, fact-packed, closely reasoned exploration of our relations with our strongest ally in the Middle East. -- Copyright ©1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

From Library Journal

Intelligence gathering has never been the exclusive business of the Israeli intelligence community. In fact, running arms, stealing nuclear material from the United States, assisting African leaders the likes of Idi Amin, training Medellin hit squads, and testing atomic weapons for South Africa appear to be common "services rendered" by Mossad & Company. For strategic purposes, David Ben-Gurion tied Israel's intelligence operations to CIA shirttails, which has led both countries into unbelievable circumstances. The primary lubricant to the widespread involvement of Israeli agents in everybody's business, according to the authors, is the arms business, which brings billions of dollars annually to the country and those who control the intelligence operations. This is a pragmatic look at what Israel (and its partner, the United States) have been up to since the 1950s--as opposed to how they do what they do so well (see Ian Black and Benny Morris's Israel's Secret Wars , LJ 6/1/91). Strongly recommended for most libraries with collections in this area. Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 3/15/91.--Ed.
- David P. Snider, Casa Grande P.L., Ariz.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Harpercollins
• Publication date: 1991
• ISBN 10: 0060164441
• ISBN 13: 9780060164447
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 416