Gaza: Books on the Winding Road to Mideast Peace | Newsweek International

Retreat, Regret, Relief

The calculus of Israel's troubled history in Lebanon seems, at first glance, simple enough. Add up the invasions, "operations," commando raids, kidnappings and massacres by proxy armies. Then count the dead: thousands of Lebanese and Palestinian civilians, more than 900 Israeli soldiers, "martyrs" of Islamic and secular guerrilla groups, fighters of the Israeli-backed South Lebanon Army and Israeli civilians killed in rocket attacks or terrorist incursions. Assess the damage to Lebanon's economy and infrastructure. Analyze the brutalized Lebanese psyche. Make the calculations any way you like, and the end result is the same: Israeli soldiers retreating across the international border last week, looking over their shoulders at Islamic guerrillas cheerfully looting abandoned posts. "I closed the gate for the last time and it feels bad," said a 21-year-old sergeant from Jerusalem. "Such a waste of lives."
New Red Lines For Lebanon

The calculus of Israel's long history in Lebanon seems, at first glance, simple enough. Add up the invasions, "operations," commando raids, kidnappings and massacres by proxy militias. Then count the dead: thousands of Lebanese and Palestinian civilians, more than 900 Israeli soldiers, "martyrs" of Islamic and secular guerrilla groups, fighters of the Israeli-backed South Lebanon Army, and Israeli civilians killed in rocket attacks or terrorist incursions. Assess the damage to Lebanon's economy and infrastructure. Analyze its brutalized psyche. Make the calculations, any way you like, and the end result is the same: Israeli soldiers retreating across the international border last week, looking over their shoulders at Islamic guerrillas cheerfully looting abandoned posts. "I closed the gate for the last time and it feels bad," said a 21-year-old sergeant from Jerusalem. "Such a waste of lives."
MIDEAST
Reaching For The Sky

If good will and warm wishes alone could bring peace to the Mideast, Ehud Barak's work would be done. Since taking office in July, Israel's new prime minister has received a hero's welcome among his Arab neighbors. Egypt's Hosni Mubarak cheered Barak's first official visit to Alexandria, calling him "a man of his word." Palestinian leader Yasir Arafat embraced him in Gaza as "a friend and a partner." From Damascus, the state-run Syrian Times praised him as a leader "who has declared his ambition to make peace."
MIDEAST
Shadows Of The Peacemakers

The last thing Ehud Barak needs is more bloodshed in the north. Israel's prime minister-elect has given himself a one-year deadline to bring the troops home from their 21-year stint in southern Lebanon. Unfortunately for the retired general, not everyone involved in the conflict shares his eagerness for peace. The landslide winner of the May election had not even taken the oath of office last week when his campaign promises began threatening to unravel into chaos.
SYRIA
Taking Assad's Pulse

Hafez Assad had become the Mideast's invisible man. After being assiduously courted by former U.S. Secretary of State Warren Christopher during Bill Clinton's first term, he had been all but ignored by Christopher's successor, Madeleine Albright. Among Arab leaders, the spotlight was on Saddam Hussein and Yasir Arafat. That made for high drama Feb. 8, when Assad, who rarely leaves his palace on a hill overlooking Damascus, turned up in Amman for the funeral of a longtime rival, King Hussein. One of the last to arrive, he upstaged even President Clinton, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Russian President Boris Yeltsin.
The Sons Finally Rise

All over the Arab world, aging rulers are staring hard at their own mortality. In a region where government is distinctly personal, the death of a leader can plunge a country into chaos. For a generation, most Arab nations have enjoyed stable--if not always enlightened--rule under a long-lasting king, president or dictator. But now many of the old leaders are sick, and vast changes are looming.