A firsthand account of the perils of American diplomacy at the UN
during Jeane Kirkpatrick's tenure, written from Gerson's position
as her expert in international law. Gerson's first "unofficial"
assignment - to find a legal pretext for preventing an increase in
the number of PLO observers at the UN - proved a lesson in
behind-the-scenes politics, revealing hostility and poor
communication between Kirkpatrick and her own boss, Secretary of
State Haig, and widely diverging views among Kirkpatrick's
advisers. For Gerson, the dismal state of affairs at the UN
overshadowed any dissension in the ranks, however, and he
represents this period as the nadir of American influence, when the
US and Israel alone faced the mob-mannered diplomacy of the General
Assembly and Security Council. Individual disasters appear as a
series of case studies - the Falklands/Malvinas conflict, KAL-007,
Grenada, the loss to Nicaragua in the International Court - but the
primary emphasis remains on the Middle East, from the first debates
on PLO observers to terrorist acts by both Arabs and Israelis,
leading to Israel's invasion of Lebanon and the ensuing crisis in
1982. Unfortunately, here these moments of crisis often have the
trappings of tawdry melodrama, with Kirkpatrick efficient and
imperious, and Gerson either gravely analytical or boyishly
breathless as the pair holds forth against un-American activity.
Loosely joined, dulled by a siege mentality, and overstuffed with
excerpts from UN meetings - but nevertheless an informed view of
the neoconservative mind-set in American diplomatic circles during
Reagan's first term. (Kirkus Reviews)
"A firsthand account of the perils of American diplomacy at the UN
during Jeane Kirkpatrick's tenure, written from Gerson's position
as her expert in international law." - Kirkus Reviews Allan Gerson,
legal counsel to former United States Ambassador to the United
Nations Jeane Kirkpatrick, elaborates on the crucial role
Kirkpatrick played in re-establishing the USA's prestige in world
affairs. Additionally, Gerson argues that Kirkpatrick had key
influence in frustrating Soviet expansionism, thereby contributing
to the liberation of Eastern Europe.
General
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