“… to the shores of Tripoli”

Throughout the 1990’s, I was an avid reader, accumulating a library of well over 100 historical and documentary titles. No fiction. As I write this I cannot identify exactly why in the very early 2000’s, I quit reading books altogether. I suspect the internet, cable TV, watching NFL football, and buying my own business had something to do with it.

Shortly after relocating to North Carolina in 2002, I attempted to resurrect reading as a habit, browsing Barnes and Noble and buying books regularly, but losing interest in about 1/3 of the way through most of them.

That changed, when, for no reason but casual interest, I picked up “Power, Faith, and Fantasy”, by Michael B. Oren. That was back in 2005 or 6 and I’m not really sure that I read it cover to cover then. But it’s never left my thoughts entirely.

The tragic events of October 7th, 2023 in the middle east spurred a renewed interest in the book. To my surprise, I found the book on a seldom used shelf in our living room. I’ve been reading it daily, a minimum of 30 minutes per day, ever since.

I have finished this book in it’s entirety. Conclusion: the Middle East will never see peace and stability. The U.S. will remain a major player until oil is no longer needed. We will ally ourselves with the Middle East countries as long as that need exists.

Could we just stop talking about peace in the Middle East? Probably not! It’s the cover for “We and the rest of the major western nations need oil.”

Here’s my point: ignore the Middle East! We’ve learned the hard way that it’s not worth sacrificing the lives of our military or the diplomates placed there in harm’s way.

Better yet, read “Power, Faith and Fantasy”!