Man in the Shadows: Inside the Middle East Crisis with a Man Who Led the Mossad

Does an excellent job of portraying the hidden details of the author's personal interactions with many famous personalities in the Middle East. But, does not speak in any depth of actual Mossad missions, other than where the author relates how he was able to help agents recover from "botched" Mossad spy missions.Mr. Halevy does provide an excellent background of the history and events of the region. It is an excellent book in understanding the true actions behind the scenes.

What should one expect when picking up a book with a subtitle that reads: "Inside the Middle East Crisis with a Man Who Led the Mossad"? Surely this is going to be a real-life rendering of a Tom Clancy novel, or at the very least, a John Le Carre one? Well, not exactly. Efraim Halevy, who was at the helm of Israel's notorious and legendary secret service organization for five years, is not your typical cloak-and-dagger type. Far from it. I happened to have met him personally on a couple of occasions many years ago, and if anything, he reminded me of Sir Humphrey in the TV show "Yes Minister": the quintessential British civil servant, with impeccable manners and the Queen's English."Man in the Shadows" is more of a political memoir than an account of the Mossad's activities. Halevy played a dominant role as the secret envoy of several Israeli prime ministers (Shamir, Peres, Rabin, Netanyahu, Barak and Sharon) and as such was privy to many negotiations that shaped the region's politics in the 1990s. He writes of these experiences in a low-key and level-headed manner; rarely does he lapse into the emotional zone and when he does so it usually, and suprisingly, concerns Shimon Peres and/or the Israeli foreign services. Although not stated in so many words, it is clear that Halevy has little sympathy for Peres. He speaks fondly of other prime ministers he served under, but for Peres he has nothing but scorn and distrust. As for the foreign office diplomats, he makes them out to look like total amateurs.A lot of attention is given to Jordan and to its late king, Hussein. This is understandable given Halevy's special relationship with the Hashemite kingdom and the late monarch. His involvement in bringing about the peace agreement between Jordan and Israel was substantial. His account of the Khaled Mashal incident - a botched attempt by the Mossad to kill a Hamas leader in Amman that brought about a serious crisis between the two countries - is probably the most fascinating chapter in the book. Halevy is well aware of this "Jordan bias" of his and admits to it; nevertheless, he remains of the opinion that Jordan plays a pivotal role in the Middle East, well and above what most observers will admit to.Halevy also devotes many pages to how he views the intelligence community and its interaction with its political masters. I found these parts of the book to be more interesting than the historical accounts (especially as there are no new revelations anyway). Halevy laments the decline of the special standing of the intelligence community, especially in the US, in the aftermath of the 9/11 structural shake-ups. He believes that in the current war of the civilised world against global terrorism - a war he calls "World War 3" - the West cannot win if it does not accord its intelligence organs the proper standing and freedom of operation they deserve.

Director Halevy's memoir is a thoughtfully written account; primarily of his serving in the sensitive positions ofDeputy Chief, and Chief Of Mossad.Certainly the Middle East is an area of tremendous controversy. Rather than opening old wounds; an equilibriumneeds to be reached.That is why I enjoyed reading his dealings with Jordan, and other practitioners of political realism.One has to wonder, however, if the Cold War had ended differently; who would Israel have aligned with.Antisemitism does exist, and if the Jewish people have a state to call their own; that is fine.This book gives a high-level overview of Israeli intelligence. Politicians make policy; the Mossad gathersintelligence to support them. Tactics are not really discussed.The only part of the book I found mildly ironic, is in discussing the demographics of Europe - namely the Muslimpopulation. Certainly, there have been periods in history when the Jewish people have been oppressed. Sowhy the hardline?A welcome book on Israeli intelligence.

Efraim Halevy spent his working career in Mossad (except for the two years he spent as Israel's ambassador to the E.U.). He rose up through its ranks to become Mossad's Director in 1998, retiring in 2002. In MAN IS THE SHADOWS, he writes a history of the Middle East from approximately the end of the Iran-Iraq War to the modern day.Halevy may be a spymaster extraordinaire, but as a writer and as a historian, he is merely adequate. Not good, not bad, merely adequate. A good historian would have a theme to the book, and that theme would have permitted events to be set out in some kind of logical order, rather than in the haphazard manner in which they are presented. The book does get a big leg up at about page 50, when Halevy introduces himself into the story. With his appearance, the story takes on a much more personal and interesting feel.One major disappointment in the book is the lack of any cloak-and-dagger spy stories. There are some covert operations, but they are in the nature of secret diplomacy (which left me wondering why these missions were not carried out by members of the Foreign Ministry rather than by Mossad).The apex of the book occurs when Halevy is summoned back from his ambassadorial duties in Brussels when a Mossad-assassination attempt of a terrorist leader goes horribly wrong in Jordan. Two Mossad agents are in custody, four more have taken refuge in the Israeli embassy, and the Jordanian King is so furious he is on the verge of abrogating the Jordan-Israeli peace treaty and closing down the Israeli embassy. When the mess is dumped in Halevy's lap, he quickly boards a plane to Amman because he alone realizes than none of Israel's problems can be addressed until the King's reputation is restored. Halevy's out-of-the-box thinking and his insight into human nature saves the situation and demonstrates why he was such a major force in the Middle East.The nadir of the book occurs in its last two chapters, where Halevy advises the U.S. and Europe to handle the struggle against al Qaeda by subjecting their Muslim minorities to the same repressive tactics used by the Israelis upon the Palestinians. Halevy attempts to justify these draconian and anti-democratic methods by arguing that the West is in a struggle for its very survival. He fails to notice that the rag-tag collection of homicidal maniacs which make up al Qaeda have been so ineffectual that they have inflicted fewer casualties during their entire history, than is suffered each year because of the tobacco industry and the internal combustion engine. The West does not need to destroy its freedoms in order to save them. Halevy argues al Qaeda wants to establish a worldwide Califate, but he fails to realize that the only conceivable way that could ever happen is if the Western atrocities drive the Muslim world into al Qaeda's camp.There is some good stuff in these pages, but you have to work to tease it out. Ignore the last two chapters; they are a waste of ink.

Gives good insight into what went on behind the the news in the Middle East as it relates to Israel and their struggle to survive in a hostile area.

An informed view of the Middle East with an insight into the relationship between security services, diplomats and politicians. Interesting, well written and full of knowledge.