On June 25, 1996 a truck containing an estimated 5,000-pound bomb drove to the northern perimeter of the Khobar Towers…
The Failed Attempt to Get a Terrorist Mastermind
Imad Mughniyah, Chief of Hezbollah International Operations, was one of the FBI’s Most Wanted Terrorists and was sought by authorities…
Yemen and the War on Terror
The ongoing political tumult in Yemen threatens to undermine the country as well as American counterterrorism efforts in the region.…
Dissension, Tension and Succession in the House of Saud
In 1932, Saudi Arabia was established by King Abd al-Aziz and has been ruled by the Saud clan ever since.…
NSFW FSOs
Diplomats by training, if not by disposition, are calm, level-headed types. They may be called on to deliver a harsh…
The Collapse of Order in the Middle East
Will Rogers once observed that “when you get into trouble 5,000 miles from home, you’ve got to have been looking…
The Middle East Cauldron
Edward “Skip” Gnehm served as Ambassador to Kuwait shortly after the U.S. invasion of Iraq, from 1991 to 1994, and…
Ambassador Skip Gnehm on the Middle East
The Middle East has been a complicated, if not violent, region for millennia, which has only been exacerbated by recent…
The Grisly Tradition of Beheading
The act of beheading has been used as a means for execution and retribution for millennia. The guillotine, which was…
“It wasn’t supposed to happen here” — 9/11, Before and After
September 11, 2001 left an indelible mark on American history when nineteen members of al Qaeda carried out the deadliest…