Want to Read saving…. Want to Read Currently Reading Read. Refresh and try again. Open Preview See a Problem? Thanks for telling us about the problem. Return to Book Page. Jack O'Connell possessed an uncanny ability to be at the center of things. On his arrival in Jordan in , he unraveled a coup aimed at the young King Hussein, who would become America's most reliable Middle East ally. Over time, their bond of trust and friendship deepened. His narrative contains secrets that will revise our understanding of the Middle East.
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The book's leitmotif is betrayal. Despite American promises, the clear directive of UN Resolution , and the years of secret negotiations with Israel, that never happened. Hussein's dying wish was that O'Connell tell the unknown story in this book. Hardcover , pages. Published May 19th by W. Norton Company first published May 9th To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up. To ask other readers questions about King's Counsel , please sign up.
Lists with This Book. Jul 23, Tim rated it liked it Shelves: Despite the cynicism which comes with reading a book by a CIA guy, one has to appreciate the criticism which O'Connell levels against Israel: What do they want? Don't they want to have peace with anybody?
King's Counsel: A Memoir of War, Espionage, and Diplomacy in the Middle East by Jack O'Connell
Do they think they will exist in any happy condition if they don't make peace with any of their neighbors? These questions come Despite the cynicism which comes with reading a book by a CIA guy, one has to appreciate the criticism which O'Connell levels against Israel: These questions come across in an exasperated tone, at the end of the book, after O'Connell has spent nearly pages outlining all the ways that King Hussein tried to reach out to the Israelis during his reign.
It carries with it a sense that seems obvious to those of us observing the Palestinian issue, and that is: At some point hard choices are going to have to be made, or Israel self-destructs. Through the book, we're walked through a history lesson that dates back to the time O'Connell met King Hussein, when the young King was just 22 years old.
From there, the relationship serves as a vantage point for major events in the Palestinian crisis: In all of these instances of course, promises were made and trusts betrayed. The King comes across sincere, as desiring peace, and as devoting his life and power to that end. The book is interesting from the historical vantage point of being next to King Hussein during the region's most important events, but the thought of what might be missing always weighs on the mind.
A man whose only mission was to keep the King in power, but later on, found he was full of admiration and respect to a king who wholeheartedly wanted and worked for peace. As he describes the peace accord signed between Jordan and Israel, he understood that there would be no real peace as the three major issues were not resolved in that treaty: Jerusalem, the refugees, or the West Bank and the other occupied territories.
In the end, he sums the whole conflict by one final advice. May 03, Gini rated it really liked it. One of my part time jobs is working as an audiobook proofer. I studied abroad in Amman, Jordan during college, and visited the country several times as well.
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I wish that I had re One of my part time jobs is working as an audiobook proofer. I wish that I had read this book before living in Amman no fault of my own, it was only published in They were all classes spanning a dozen countries and hundreds if not thousands of years, though. How can you understand modern Middle Eastern political maneuvering that way?
An inch deep and a mile wide, just one of many undergrad problems. For one thing, I never realized how big of a deal it was to loose the West Bank.
Jack O’Connell’s “King’s Counsel: A Memoir of War, Espionage, and Diplomacy in the Middle East”
That is glossed over in our backwards glance to the 6 Days War. But for several years thereafter, it was something that the Jordanians were trying to negotiate and regain control. Return of the West Bank was even stipulated as part of Resolution , which I knew, but again never really considered the implications. The writing is Spartan and wholly functional, with no thought given to form. However, I see this as a natural style for someone who worked as a CIA operative and lawyer for decades. He had decades of experience in the Middle East. He might have biases, but they are informed biases, and he deserves to be part of the conversation.
Because though his book is about the King of Jordan, it is largely a book about Jordan and Israel and Middle Eastern peace. But when there were tough negotiations, Hussein was there. When there were problems, he put forth solutions, and when there was a chance for compromise, he took it. These are indications of someone who really believes in peace. There are other parties at work here who stall, blame, and play games to maximize their own returns.
These are people not interested in peace, and this book though, again, with some bias. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to know more about the US role in Middle East politics, and to anyone fascinated by a modern monarchy like the Hashemite royal family. Jul 12, Paul rated it really liked it Shelves: These items are shipped from and sold by different sellers. Buy the selected items together This item: Ships from and sold by Amazon.
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King's Counsel: A Memoir of War, Espionage, and Diplomacy in the Middle East
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Kindle Edition Verified Purchase. As one who worked for the Intelligence Community for 48 years, taught strategic intelligence warning at the national level and facilitated case studies of past intelligence successes and failure, this book filled in so many knowledge gaps. I have always admired King Hussein, but often wondered how he walked the fine line between being the guardian of the Heshamite Kingdom and truly wanting peace in the Middle East. The author's direct knowledge of King Hussein's initiatives is priceless and I am so thankful that he wrote this book.
He omits at least a couple of conversations between the King and Sadaam Hussein, which my still be classified or he just chose not to discuss, which may have darkened the King's role ever so slightly, but overall this book rates as one of the best I have ever read. He chides a number of Washington policymakers for failing to recognize King Husayn's defining integrity or his strong identification with the United States and US interests.
He is also highly critical of a variety of policymakers whom he viewed as so pro-Israeli that they would not consider the value of working with friendly Arab states. He occasionally uses the word "betrayal" to describe US treatment of Jordan, particularly with regard to Jordanian efforts to regain the West Bank from Israel. He further singles out various Israeli politicians and especially Binyamin Netanyahu for fairly harsh criticism.
In one of the more uneven parts of the study, he describes an incident at King Husayn's funeral where he scolds Mossad head Efraim Halevy for Israel's lack of receptivity to Jordanian peace overtures. Halevy seems like a singularly poor choice for such a dressing down, as he is widely regarded as one of Israel's most pro-Jordanian leaders, certainly in the same league as assassinated Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin.
Yet, this book is not simply about Jordan and Israel. One of the most interesting aspects of this memoir involves King Husayn's sometimes friendly relations with Iraqi dictator Saddam Husayn. Such dealings were mostly pragmatic, but there were also some unexpected jolts in dealing with Saddam. In one instance, O'Connell relates an incident when Saddam's wife telephoned King Husayn and asked him to prevent her husband from ordering the planned execution of his son Uday. While it is well known that Saddam briefly jailed Uday for publicly murdering one of his favorite servants, O'Connell's revelation that he had made a decision to execute his son has not been so clear.
O'Connell maintains that King Husayn secretly flew to Baghdad and talked Saddam out of capital punishment for his own son.