http://worldcat.org/entity/work/id/2588224680

Jimmy Carter and the Middle East : the politics of presidential diplomacy

Based on newly declassified documents, Jimmy Carter and the Middle East offers a provocative analysis of Carter's role as 'diplomat-in-chief' in the Arab-Israeli conflict during his single-term presidency. As the first US leader to articulate a position on the Palestinian 'question' and deal with a conservative Israeli government, and the only one to mediate a peace treaty between Israel and an Arab state, Carter left an indelible mark on the conflict. His efforts led to the effervescent triumph of the 1978 Camp David Accords and the dramatic 1979 Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty, but his central role serves as a cautionary tale about the political constraints on a president's ability to conduct foreign policy. Against the background of splintering domestic coalitions and shifting geopolitical challenges, battles with the press, Congress, and pro-Israeli lobby groups like AIPAC further undermined Carter's labors.

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