America and the Mideast: A Half Century of Change.

For years John K. Cooley has been a staff correspondent successively for the Christian Science Monitor and ABC News, and has written widely on the Middle East and North Africa. Cooley's most recent book, An Alliance Against Babylon: The US, Israel and Iraq, which was just released last month, explores the roots of Israel's longstanding enmity with Iraq and its role in the war between the U.S. and Iraq. Drawing from unpublished sources, as well as from John Cooley's personal encounters with principal players such as David Ben-Gurion, the Shah of Iran, Anwar al-Sadat, King Hussein of Jordan and Saddam Hussein, this book gives a uniquely valuable perspective on the complex history of Iraq and why it continues to be at the heart of world affairs.

This lecture was sponsored by the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, and the Center for Middle Eastern and North African Studies/International Institute.