Cooperating Rivals: The Riparian Politics of the Jordan River Basin

Preface

Preface The title of this work, Cooperating Rivals, has a double meaning. First, rivals as generally understood are competitors who pursue the same object. Second, the word “rival” is derived from the Latin, rivalis, one utilizing the same river as another. The title thus reflects the focus of this work: riparian cooperation and conflict in a competitive setting. The book’s cover picture is of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and King Hussein of Jordan having a discussion on the Lake Tiberias shore. The heart of this book is the Jordan-Israel cooperating rival relationship. I owe a debt of gratitude to Robert Lieber, Miriam Lowi, Aaron Wolf, Adam Garfinkle, Danny Unger, Richard Matthew, and Robert Satloff for providing valuable comments on earlier drafts of this work. Each disagrees with some of what I argue here but all are scholars from whom I have learned much. At different points in the process, others have also aided me—including Ahron Klieman, Eran Feitelson, David Eaton, and Dalia Dassa Kaye. Many individuals gave generously of their time to be interviewed for this book. In particular, I would like to thank Eli Rosenthal, Munther Haddadin, Yacov Vardi, Noah Kinarti, Fred Hof, Thomas Pickering, and Abdul al-Rahman Tamini. In addition, I owe a great deal to many individuals who contributed to the production of the final product: Amy Elfenbaum for her work on the book cover; Josh Sosland, Suzanne Young, and Neil Sosland for editing ; Michael Rinella and Laurie Searl for shepherding the manuscript through the various stages of the publication process, Judy Nielsen for the production of the maps; and Janet Kim, Robert Kaminski, and Nadia Awad for research assistance. Also deserving much gratitude are the staffs of the various archives and libraries in which I worked: the Truman and Eisenhower Presidential libraries, the national archives of the United States and Israel; and the Jerusalem Post and Jordan Times archives. I also thank the Royal Jordanian Institute, the Truman, Davis, Dayan, and Jaffee centers; and Utah State University Special Collections Department (the Criddle papers). At different points in my research and writing I received funding from Georgetown xi University, Hebrew University, University of Missouri-Columbia, and American University for which I am grateful. While the book is dedicated to my parents, Blanche and Neil Sosland, I would like to recognize, with deepest love, my wife Mindy and our three children , Zachary, Kate, and Henry. This work also honors the memory of Yonaton Barnea. xii Preface ...