حذار من الدول الصغيرة

Beware of Small States is an immensely absorbing and thoroughly researched book on Lebanon's critically turbulent history which unavoidably evolves into the history of Middle East's Arab - Israeli conflict... The book is not an easy ready by any means. This is history with all its ugly truth and some more.

Hirst's perspective is based on actual geo-political facts and the events that sowed the seeds of imminent conflict that caused the six Israel - Arab wars to date, the rise of Arafat's Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), how Ayatollah Khomeini's militant group, Hizbullah got involved from Iran, Syria's so called big brother protection of Lebanon and interfering into its politics, other Arab leader's non-reaction when the need to do so was at hand and of course, Israel's relentless pursuit of aggression to disable any form of unity that would threaten its own existence - the root cause for this whole mess to start with...Like the author put it, Lebanon became the 'battleground of other people's wars'. Alas, being geographically poised to offer such a ground for two warring parties, unwittingly and inevitably Lebanon got drawn into the 'Arab - Israeli struggle' on Lebanon's land....It's up to us now who have read 'Beware of Small States' to seek more facts from opposite sides if any; to make up our own minds. However, I think David Hirst has got the truth spot on.

Hirst's broader argument is that the politics and conflicts of the small sectarian nation of Lebanon are consumed by broader power dynamics between its neighbouring states and their Western allies, and that Lebanese conflicts are emblematic of the political complexities of the entire region. He does a great job in unfolding an intelligible sweeping narrative which tracks down the plethora of shifting political alliances and betrayals over a century and a half that ends with an analysis of events surrounding the Israeli invasion of Gaza in 2009. A lot of blame is explicitly attributed to the application of belligerent, aggressive Zionist Israeli military strategy in encouraging the civil war and inflicting subsequent military violence upon civilians (for e.g., siding with the Phalangists on numerous occasions, especially in the case of the Sabra and Shatila camp massacres), and Hirst clearly admires Hizbullah as a non-state state-like organisation for their provision of social services and their effective discipline as a guerilla force. Yet the work never comes across as too polemic, for Hirst's analyses of the interconnectedness of relationships between the other players such as Syria, Egypt, Jordan, Palestinians, Saudi Arabia, Iran, and the already-fraught internal politics of Lebanese factions provide a pretty nuanced account of the fragile Lebanese state, and a convincing explanation of the aggregation of problems that form the conditions of the Arab-Israeli conflict.

The Guardians former Middle East correspondent and long term resident of Beirut (kidnapped twice) has penned a fine book telling the story of Lebanons role (putting the occupied territories to one side) as the main battleground of the Arab-Israeli conflict...."Beware of Small States" is a welcome addition to an already crowded field. Within its 400 pages it provides a well written and straightforward account of the Arab-Israeli conflict as it effected Lebanon. Developments in the Middle East as a whole (particularly occupied Palestine, Syria and Israel) and beyond are never absent, and keep the reader informed, far more than ought to be practical in a book focussed on Lebanon, of the conflict in its entirety. Other books that might be of interest are Hirsts own The Gun and the Olive Branch which is a general history of the conflict up until its last revision in 2003; and Robert Fisks exemplary work Pity the Nation: Lebanon at War that details Lebanons ordeal up to the end of the Civil War in 1990, with additional chapters in the 2001 edition bringing the story up to the Israeli withdrawl of 2000.

بشرى سارة ترجمة كتاب هيرست للعربية , فهذا كتاب جد هام لصحفي عريق يعرف لبنان والمنطقة جيدا. شكرا لابلاغنا.

At first I was unsure how Hirst could top his heroic Gun and Olive Branch:Roots of Violence in the Middle East......Put aside all current readings on the region...clear the decks...and desks, kindles, laptops but make time for this retrospective historical accounting, as no other will enrich, inform, educate and awaken. Brilliantly researched using regional archives and beyond.

READ THIS BOOK...give it as a gift to family, associates and friends....Many Blessings to David Hirst for providing readers with blue print and text to finally arrive at this comprehensive beautifully written book, which hands Obama administration an unsparing review of what could lie ahead without the strictest adherence to the lessons of the past... & to Nation Press for publishing this stunner.

Bravo!!