Long acknowledged as one of the world's leading authorities on Middle Eastern affairs, Said Aburish still rankles Arab leaders for his outspokeness. In A Brutal Friendship, he skillfully traces the origins of the region's present turmoil to the way in which corrupt Arab despots have, since the First World War, subordinated the welfare of their subjects to their cozy relationships with the West. Using direct evidence from his unrivaled range of Arab sources, he describes how the West has sponsored illegitimate leaders to further its own interests and how it continues to turn a blind eye to the repressive regimes that rule the region today.

With its penetrating insight, A Brutal Friendship will be hailed as an essential primer for understanding a confusing world, one in which the past is just as dangerous as the present.