Source of Reagan's "Irrationality of Middle Eastern politics" quote?

[Knightskye]

What's the source? I tried looking for his memoirs on Google Books, but I couldn't find the relevant bit on the Lebanon bombing.

[FrankRep]

http://www.campaignforliberty.com/blog.php?view=36970



Perhaps we didn't appreciate fully enough the depth of the hatred and the complexity of the problems that made the Middle East such a jungle. Perhaps the idea of a suicide car bomber committing mass murder to gain instant entry to Paradise was so foreign to our own values and consciousness that it did not create in us the concern for the marines' safety that it should have.

In the weeks immediately after the bombing, I believe the last thing that we should do was turn tail and leave. Yet the irrationality of Middle Eastern politics forced us to rethink our policy there. If there would be some rethinking of policy before our men die, we would be a lot better off. If that policy had changed towards more of a neutral position and neutrality, those 241 marines would be alive today.




http://i43.tower.com/images/mm117204593/american-life-autobiography-ronald-reagan-hardcover-cover-art.jpg (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/145162073X/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=libert0f-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399369&creativeASIN=145162073X)

Ronald Reagan -- An American Life: The Autobiography (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/145162073X/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=libert0f-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399369&creativeASIN=145162073X)

[Sola_Fide]

http://www.campaignforliberty.com/blog.php?view=36970


Perhaps we didn't appreciate fully enough the depth of the hatred and the complexity of the problems that made the Middle East such a jungle. Perhaps the idea of a suicide car bomber committing mass murder to gain instant entry to Paradise was so foreign to our own values and consciousness that it did not create in us the concern for the marines' safety that it should have.

In the weeks immediately after the bombing, I believe the last thing that we should do was turn tail and leave. Yet the irrationality of Middle Eastern politics forced us to rethink our policy there. If there would be some rethinking of policy before our men die, we would be a lot better off. If that policy had changed towards more of a neutral position and neutrality, those 241 marines would be alive today.



Thanks Frank.

[klamath]

Reagan diary book also has an entry on how much he disliked the prime minister of Isreal as one that stood in the way of peace.

[Knightskye]

http://www.campaignforliberty.com/blog.php?view=36970



Perhaps we didn't appreciate fully enough the depth of the hatred and the complexity of the problems that made the Middle East such a jungle. Perhaps the idea of a suicide car bomber committing mass murder to gain instant entry to Paradise was so foreign to our own values and consciousness that it did not create in us the concern for the marines' safety that it should have.

In the weeks immediately after the bombing, I believe the last thing that we should do was turn tail and leave. Yet the irrationality of Middle Eastern politics forced us to rethink our policy there. If there would be some rethinking of policy before our men die, we would be a lot better off. If that policy had changed towards more of a neutral position and neutrality, those 241 marines would be alive today.




http://i43.tower.com/images/mm117204593/american-life-autobiography-ronald-reagan-hardcover-cover-art.jpg (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/145162073X/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=libert0f-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399369&creativeASIN=145162073X)

Ronald Reagan -- An American Life: The Autobiography (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/145162073X/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=libert0f-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399369&creativeASIN=145162073X)

Thanks. I searched for part of that passage on Google Books, but the results it gave me weren't for Reagan's autobiography; it listed "Ron Paul and the New Revolutionaries" and some tome of congressional testimony.

http://www.google.com/search?q=Yet+the+irrationality+of+Middle+Eastern+p olitics+forced+us+to+rethink+our+policy+there.+If+ there+would+be+some+rethinking+of+policy+before+ou r+men+die%2C+we+would+be+a+lot+better+off.+If+that +policy+had+changed+towards+more+of+a+neutral+posi tion+and+neutrali&btnG=Search+Books&tbm=bks&tbo=1