Recent events in Syria have once again spotlighted the dangers of chemical weapons and international efforts to catalog and destroy…
Mission to Algiers: Diplomacy by Engagement
Back to Diplomats and Diplomacy Mission to Algiers: Diplomacy by Engagement “At a time when the United States is encouraging…
The More Things Change – A Look Back at Syria’s Hafez al-Assad
“You know I have my ups and downs, but I have a pact with God. The pact is that no…
Qaddafi – The Man and His Rise to Power
On September 1st, 1969 Muammar Qaddafi along with a group of officers part of the Free Officers Movement staged a…
Prague Spring as Seen from the Outside – The Utter Impotence of U.S. Policy
Newspapers that had long been the Party mouthpiece were allowed to criticism the government, labor unions were given more rights…
The Suez Crisis — And A Different Side of Nasser
Gamal Abdel Nasser was one of the most influential modern-day leaders in the Middle East. As part of the Free…
A Secret Betrayal — Kurdish Refugees in Iran
Between 1961 and 1975, the relationship between the Kurds and the Iraqi government was especially tumultuous. In 1961, the First…
Jimmy Carter’s “Malaise” Speech
In the late 1970’s, in the wake of the Iranian Revolution and the ongoing hostage crisis, a massive oil shortage…
The 1958 U.S. Marine Invasion of Lebanon – It was no day at the beach
1958 — Lebanon was yet again at the forefront of foreign policy concerns. Gamal Abdel Nasser, one of the most…
Independence and “Catastrophe”: The Deadly Founding of Israel, May 14, 1948
On May 15, 1948, the UK withdrew from Palestine. (It had been given a mandate over the territories after it defeated the Ottomans…