Reading Martin Indyk's "Master of the Game: Henry Kissinger: the Art of Middle East Diplomacy. Just got through the Yom Yippur War, the one where the US went to Defcon 3 while Nixon was melting down with the Saturday Night massacre. The one where Brezhnev was apparently addicted to drugs and drink.
A year or two ago I read a new book on the coming of WWI tracing the network of misunderstandings and wrong assumptions which led to the war. That's what came to mind as I read--the Soviets, the Egyptians, the Israelis, the Syrians--all were flawed players in the game.
I doubt there's much chance of improving the rationality of our leaders--they're human after all.
(After finishing the book, which covers Kissinger's successful negotiations to calm the area, and take advantage of opportunities to stablize the situation, laying the groundwork for Carter's Camp David establishment of peace between Israel and Egypt.)
I came away with an appreciation of Kissinger's abilities and even more appreciation of Indyk's approach: he's clear on the aims and tactics of the various players and their misjudgments. Anwar Sadat comes off well as a statesman, amazingly for someone who was pro-Hitler during WWII. The other leaders seem capable--no villains, just quirky people.
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