Title: Five Uncomfortable Facts About the Middle East. Source: DU Center for Middle East Studies. Date Published: February 18, 2016. Description:
A Lecture by Ambassador Gary Grappo, former U.S. Ambassador to Oman, Charge d’Affaires and Deputy Chief of Mission in Saudi Arabia, Minister Counselor for Political Affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, Director of Regional Affairs for the State Department’s Near East Bureau in Washington, Envoy and Head of Mission for The Quartet in Jerusalem, now a Distinguished Fellow of the Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Denver’s Josef Korbel School of International Studies. This event was held at the Josef Korbel School of International Studies on February 9, 2016."Sectarianism has largely overtaken a conflict that was once originally intended to remove a despotic leader. Today, most of Syria's opposition lacks an overwhelming political philosophy that might guide Syria forward. And this unfortunate pattern has repeated through the region. The great Arab historiographer Ibn Khaldun, who, by the way, was often quoted by Ronald Reagan, in his classic work, "Ibn Khaldun: Al-Muqaddimah," called attention to this phenomenon in the Arab world, and he did in the 14th century.
With this in mind, we're left with this sad and unfortunate reality: the Middle East will be a region of upheaval, conflict, and violence for decades, probably extending well to the middle of this century." - Ambassador Gary Grappo [18:42 - 19:39].
