TY - BOOK AU - Aburish,Saïd K. TI - A brutal friendship: the West and the Arab elite SN - 031218543X : AV - DS63.18 .A28 1998 PY - 1998/// CY - New York PB - St. Martin's Press KW - Legitimacy of governments KW - Arab countries KW - Consensus (Social sciences) KW - Elite (Social sciences) KW - Politics and government KW - Foreign relations KW - United States N1 - "A Thomas Dunne book."; Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index N2 - A scathing indictment of the hypocrisy and betrayal that rules the Middle East; Long acknowledged as one of the world's leading authorities on Middle Eastern affairs, Said Aburish still rankles Arab leaders for his outspokeness. In A Brutal Friendship, he skillfully traces the origins of the region's present turmoil to the way in which corrupt Arab despots have, since the First World War, subordinated the welfare of their subjects to their cozy relationships with the West. Using direct evidence from his unrivaled range of Arab sources, he describes how the West has sponsored illegitimate leaders to further its own interests and how it continues to turn a blind eye to the repressive regimes that rule the region today; With its penetrating insight, A Brutal Friendship will be hailed as an essential primer for understanding a confusing world, one in which the past is just as dangerous as the present ER -