Joseph T Stanik – författare

Long before the overt war in Afghanistan and the covert war against al-Qaida, U.S. forces struck at one of the world’s hotbeds of terrorism. On 15 April 1986, in the dead of night, American strike aircraft roared into the heart of Muammar Qaddafi''s Libya, attacking carefully selected targets and nearly killing the “brother leader” himself. Codenamed Operation El Dorado Canyon, the raid was in direct response to Qaddafi''s support of a terrorist act against U.S. service personnel stationed in Europe and was a result of President Ronald Reagan''s pledge to respond to terrorism with “swift and effective retribution.” Stanik, a retired naval officer and Middle East scholar, provides a detailed account of the raid as well as an in-depth analysis of its causes and effects. He also describes three other hostile encounters between U.S. and Libyan forces during Reagan''s presidency and details U.S. covert operations. From a bombing in West Berlin, to terrorism in the skies over Lockerbie, Scotland, and from the halls of power in Washington to airbases in England and on the decks of American warships in the Mediterranean, Stanik weaves an international thriller that is relevant to current events.

This work answers 101 essential questions on the Middle East, Islam, the Arab Spring, al-Qa’ida, and ISIS. It is for those wanting to begin an intellectual immersion into the complexities of the region from pre-biblical times to the post-Arab Spring. The authors have carefully focused on what the deploying soldier, sailor, Marine, coast guardsman or airman needs to know before arriving in the Middle East, including the nuances inherent in a region that is the crossroads of three continents (Europe, Asia, and Africa) and how previous global powers interacted and left their mark. While developed and written for Americans about to deploy to combat zones and areas of operation, it is also of use to a wider audience of Americans serious about the challenges of the region.