Table of Contents

Preface Introduction Muammar Al-Qaddafi, Leader of the Revolution The United States and Libya, 1969-1983 The United States and Libya on a Collision Course Operation Prairie Fire The La Belle Discotheque Bombing and its Aftermath Operation El Dorado Canyon and its Aftermath Appendix: The Qaddafi Regime on Terrorism: A Sampling Bibliographic Essay Index

Promotional Information

Starting from the premise that the U.S. military attack against Libya on April 15, 1986, was 'probably the most controversial discrete foreign policy action undertaken by the Reagan administration,' Davis offers a soled and very detailed analysis of this incident. ORBIS

Reviews

?. . . This is a thorough study of one of the most controversial foreign policy acts of the Reagan administration. The extensive documentation makes the book valuable for professionals and college students; the narrative serves the reader who is interested in Libya or terrorism. There is a useful index and bibliographical essay.?-Perspectives on Political Science

?Focussing on the orgins of the US attack on Libya on April 15, 1986, Davis tries to explain the US military action against Qaddafi within the larger context of fighting terrorism. The author believes that one cannot consider what was probably the most controversial foreign policy action of the Reagan administration as though it occurred in a vacuum. The book is organized in six chapters tracing the origins of the attack in the years of Qaddafi's rule on up to the air raids. How a country as small as Libya came to attract such attention from a superpower is made understandable by describing the global activities of Qaddafi, almost all of which were inimical to the interests of the US. Davis goes to great length to refute the charge that Reagan selected Libya as a target because of its weakness and because he had to demonstrate American firmness in dealing with terrorism. In the author's opinion, Qaddafi very much brought his harsh punishment on himself by his terrorist activities, particularly as directed against the US. The question of how successful the US air strikes against Libya were will be controversial for along time. In short, such an isolated event does not provide a sufficient basis for a doctrine of US military retaliation against terrorism. The book is well documented, has an adequate index, a useful appendix of chronology, and a bibliographical essay. Upper-division undergraduate and above.?-Choice

?Starting from the premise that the U.S. military attack against Libya on April 15, 1986, was probably the most controversial discrete foreign policy action undertaken by the Reagan administration, ' Davis offers a solid and very detailed analysis of this incident. In addition to the heroic research effort that went into his account, what makes it especially valuable is that it, unlike the majority of book-length treatments of Muammar al-Qadhdhafi, contains not the slightest taint of apologetics for the mad dog of the Middle East' (as President Reagan once described him).?-Orbis

." . . This is a thorough study of one of the most controversial foreign policy acts of the Reagan administration. The extensive documentation makes the book valuable for professionals and college students; the narrative serves the reader who is interested in Libya or terrorism. There is a useful index and bibliographical essay."-Perspectives on Political Science

"Starting from the premise that the U.S. military attack against Libya on April 15, 1986, was probably the most controversial discrete foreign policy action undertaken by the Reagan administration, ' Davis offers a solid and very detailed analysis of this incident. In addition to the heroic research effort that went into his account, what makes it especially valuable is that it, unlike the majority of book-length treatments of Muammar al-Qadhdhafi, contains not the slightest taint of apologetics for the mad dog of the Middle East' (as President Reagan once described him)."-Orbis

"Focussing on the orgins of the US attack on Libya on April 15, 1986, Davis tries to explain the US military action against Qaddafi within the larger context of fighting terrorism. The author believes that one cannot consider what was probably the most controversial foreign policy action of the Reagan administration as though it occurred in a vacuum. The book is organized in six chapters tracing the origins of the attack in the years of Qaddafi's rule on up to the air raids. How a country as small as Libya came to attract such attention from a superpower is made understandable by describing the global activities of Qaddafi, almost all of which were inimical to the interests of the US. Davis goes to great length to refute the charge that Reagan selected Libya as a target because of its weakness and because he had to demonstrate American firmness in dealing with terrorism. In the author's opinion, Qaddafi very much brought his harsh punishment on himself by his terrorist activities, particularly as directed against the US. The question of how successful the US air strikes against Libya were will be controversial for along time. In short, such an isolated event does not provide a sufficient basis for a doctrine of US military retaliation against terrorism. The book is well documented, has an adequate index, a useful appendix of chronology, and a bibliographical essay. Upper-division undergraduate and above."-Choice