Under Siege: P.L.O. Decisionmaking During the 1982 War

Based on documents from PLO archives (Yasser Arafat is claimed to have granted full access) and on interviews with Fateh leaders as well as Western diplomats who were involved, Khalidi presents an objective and closely reasoned analysis of the defeat of the PLO and its allies. The study reveals the effect of battlefield events on the complex quadrilateral diplomacy between the PLO, the Lebanese government, the U.S. and Israel. The author also sheds new light on the loss of U.S. prestige in the Middle East: the U.S., he maintains, is held responsible in the region for, among other things, failing to restrain the Israelis and for not preventing the Sabra and Shatila massacres. He concludes with a concise summary of the transformations wrought by the 1982 war on the politics of Lebanon, the Palestinians and Israel. Khalidi, a Palestinian, is a visiting professor of political science at Georgetown University. December