Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of illustrations
- List of tables
- Preface
- Preface to the paperback edition
- List of abbreviations
- 1 Introduction: conflict and cooperation in international river basins
- Part I Riparian dilemmas
- Part II The Jordan waters conflict
- Part III The Jordan basin since 1967
- Appendix 1 US involvement in water development in the Jordan basin
- Appendix 2 The unified development of the water resources of the Jordan Valley region
- Appendix 3 The Arabs' plan for development of water resources in the Jordan Valley
- Appendix 4 The Cotton plan for the development and utilization of the water resources of the Jordan and Litani River basins
- Appendix 5 Annex II: from, Treaty of Peace Between the State of Israel and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan
- Notes
- Select bibliography
- Index
- Cambridge Middle East Library
Preface
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 08 December 2009
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of illustrations
- List of tables
- Preface
- Preface to the paperback edition
- List of abbreviations
- 1 Introduction: conflict and cooperation in international river basins
- Part I Riparian dilemmas
- Part II The Jordan waters conflict
- Part III The Jordan basin since 1967
- Appendix 1 US involvement in water development in the Jordan basin
- Appendix 2 The unified development of the water resources of the Jordan Valley region
- Appendix 3 The Arabs' plan for development of water resources in the Jordan Valley
- Appendix 4 The Cotton plan for the development and utilization of the water resources of the Jordan and Litani River basins
- Appendix 5 Annex II: from, Treaty of Peace Between the State of Israel and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan
- Notes
- Select bibliography
- Index
- Cambridge Middle East Library
Summary
When Israeli forces invaded Lebanon in June 1982, some observers claimed that one of Israel's objectives was to seize control of the Litani River. At the time, I found the allegation intriguing. Why would a state launch such a costly military operation for the sake of a river that, even by regional standards, was not particularly abundant? What Israeli national security concerns could possibly be epitomized by a Lebanese river? When I began graduate school at Princeton University in the fall of that year, I told my teacher, Charles Issawi, that I was interested in exploring the role — if indeed there was one — that rivers, and water in general, have played in the ongoing and unresolved Arab—Israeli confrontation. He chuckled and said: “That should keep you busy for a while.” Little did I know that ten years later I would still be studying the complex relationship between riparian dispute and inter-state conflict.
No doubt my initial curiosity with the “lure of the Litani” was quickly dwarfed by the larger, and far more engaging political issues raised by the experience in the Jordan River basin. For one, it became clear to me that there was, indeed, an intimate link between water resources and national security.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Water and PowerThe Politics of a Scarce Resource in the Jordan River Basin, pp. xv - xviiiPublisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 1993