In the spring of 2001, Robert Jordan was a Dallas attorney whom George Bush wanted for the ambassadorship in Saudi Arabia. Not yet confirmed on 9/11, Jordan's nomination sped through Congress for approval and he found himself on the ground in the Kingdom by early October. Jordan had no prior diplomatic experience-Saudi Arabia mandates that the U.S. Ambassador be a political appointee with the ear of the president-and was forced to learn to run an embassy, deal with a foreign culture, and protect U.S. interests on the job all in the wake of the most significant terrorist attack on the United States in history. Furthermore, Jordan arrived in Saudi Arabia shortly after it became clear that the country had spawned not only the mastermind Osama bin Laden, but also 15 of the 19 hijackers. Desert Diplomat: Inside Saudi Arabia following 9/11 gives an inside account of the fascinating and historic ambassadorship of Robert Jordan from 2001 through 2003. As the newly-installed ambassador, he had to press the Saudis on terrorism while maintaining a positive relationship to ensure their cooperation with the war in Afghanistan and invasion of Iraq. Throughout his appointment he had first-hand dealings with the uppermost echelon of Washington power including President Bush, Dick Cheney, Colin Powell, Donald Rumsfeld, Condoleezza Rice, George Tenet, and Tommy Franks while working with the Crown Prince Abdullah and other top Saudi leaders. Desert Diplomat provides a honest portrait of working with these prominent individuals, details of the historic decisions of Jordan's tenure, and a candid assessment the distressing amount of dysfunction in the way American foreign policy, warfare, and intelligence-gathering was conducted.
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