Harvest

This book, in a well-documented and exciting analytical tour, covers the massive developments and events that the Arab region has witnessed since August 2, 1990, in which the United States played the leading role by leading the military coalition against Iraq, and the resulting direct military and political involvement in the region. Its striking titles include: Eyes on the Ground, Spies in the Sky - From Babylon to Moshe Dayan - New Jersey - The United States Turns a Blind Eye in Lebanon - Hostages of Misfortune (Casey, Kelly and the Appearance of "Gorba" on Stage) - The End of Iran Air Flight 655 - The Beginning of Pan Am Flight 103 - Desert Storm - The Future. The book begins with the final days of the Shah's rule in Iran (an interview with the Shah published for the first time by the author), the rise of Khomeini's revolution, and America's early clashes with Islamic Iran, which led to the complication of US-Iranian relations, the occupation of the US embassy in Tehran, the detention of Western hostages in Lebanon, and the infamous Iran-Contra scandal. The book examines the relationship between the United States of America and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the rest of the Gulf and Arabian Peninsula states, and the role of Arab oil in this relationship, which has recently developed into a quasi-fateful military alliance. The book also examines the devastating civil war that Lebanon has been experiencing since the mid-1970s, and the human, political, and military losses it has suffered as a result. It also discusses the complexity of the sectarian conflict in Lebanon, which led to the hostage crisis. The author then delves into the Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988) and the role America played—directly and indirectly—in the region during that war. The author reveals some of the secrets and mysteries of that role, from military support to Iraq and Iran, to direct involvement in the war, represented by the downing of the Iranian passenger plane (Flight No. 655) in the Gulf waters by American missiles on July 3, 1988, followed by the bombing of Pan Am Flight (103) and the fall of its wreckage in the village of Lockerbie, Scotland, on December 21, 1988. In this book, the distinguished journalist John Cooley relies on reliable scientific sources, secret documents, and dozens of private interviews with figures who witnessed the events or participated in their making. "The Harvest" is a unique book that presents a vivid, objective presentation of the most important events and the complex and intertwined interactions that created the developments and political situations witnessed by the Middle East during the 1980s, which shaped and crystallized the expected shape of the region during the 1990s and until the beginning of the twenty-first century. It is a book that combines sobriety, scientific accuracy, interesting journalistic presentation, and valuable, documented, and useful information.