(8) GAZA | JULY 2014
Gaza City’s Shifa hospital was packed with children injured by Israeli bombs. The UN claimed its refugee shelters were repeatedly attacked despite having informed Israeli authorities of their locations.
(9) IRAQ | 2014
Television crews were a conspicuous presence during elections in Iraq. These moments were hailed by Washington of proof that democracy was spreading in Iraq, but ended up establishing a system of Shiite dominance that Sunnis resented, fueling civil war.
(10) YEMEN | OCTOBER 2012
The old city of Sana’a in Yemen is a cultural and architectural gem, one of my favorite places in the Middle East. Unfortunately, I was there on this trip to interview Gregory Johnsen, an author and expert on Islamic radicals who explained how the militants were digging in as Yemen lurched from unrest to civil war.
(11) LIBYA | AUGUST 2011
The Libyan rebels closing on Tripoli were overwhelmingly supportive of western journalists, believing our coverage had helped protesters topple President Hosni Mubarak in Egypt and would also help them overthrow Col. Mu’ammar Gadhafi. Crowds sometimes gathered when I did live television broadcasts.
(12) LIBYA | AUGUST 2011
As anti-government rebels, backed by NATO air strikes, moved across Libya, the front lines shifted by the day, sometimes great distances. Reporters moved with them, moving on or retreating as the battles ebbed and flowed. Here we stopped for a live report.
(13) TURKISH-SYRIAN BORDER | NOVEMBER 2014
Getting into Syria from Turkey often meant climbing over something—a fence, crops, or in this case the wall of a farmer’s home. ISIS had taken over much of the Kurdish town of Kobane and was threatening to capture the rest. We went into the half-occupied town to see the Kurdish fighters who were brave enough to stand up to ISIS.
(14) KOBANE, SYRIA | NOVEMBER 2014
The main market street in the Syrian town of Kobane, destroyed in fighting between ISIS and a Kurdish militia. After receiving American air support, the Kurds retook Kobane, the first major defeat of ISIS on the battlefield.
(15) SYRIA | AUGUST 2013
The Syrian war created millions of refugees and many others, like these people, who were displaced from their homes but couldn’t leave Syria because they couldn’t afford the risky and uncertain journey to Turkey or Europe. By the fourth year of the conflict, half of all Syrians were out of their homes.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I’D LIKE TO THANK STEPHEN G. Smith, who helped at every step of the way and without whom this book would never have been completed. Ben Plesser, who provided insight and raised questions I hadn’t considered. Mary Engel, whose support and love are deeply appreciated. Ali Zelenko, whose advice is always valuable. And of course the great master of editing and publishing, Alice Mayhew. There are too many colleagues to mention by name, but I’d like to recognize Aziz Akyavas, John Kooistra, Randy Brown, Madeleine Haeringer, Bredun Edwards, Wajjeh Abu Warefah, Mohammed Ajlouni, Zohair Beyati, Ghazi Balkiz, Ammar Sheikh Omar, Charlene Gubash, Mohammed Muslemany, and many others. Thank you to all of you.
© BREDUN EDWARDS
RICHARD ENGEL is the award-winning Chief Foreign Correspondent for NBC and has been reporting on the Middle East for twenty years. He is the author of War Journal and A Fist in the Hornet’s Nest.
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INDEX
A note about the index: The pages referenced in this index refer to the page numbers in the print edition. Clicking on a page number will take you to the ebook location that corresponds to the beginning of that page in the print edition. For a comprehensive list of locations of any word or phrase, use your reading system’s search function.
ABC, 52, 78, 79, 104
Engel’s work for, 63, 66, 73–75, 78, 86, 91
Abdelrazaq, 184, 185, 187
Abdul Hamid II, 32
Abed Rabbo, Yasser, 53
Abu Bakr, 92
Abu Ghraib, 135, 142
Abu Salim Prison, 7–8
Abu Zaal, 133
Adnani, Abu Mohammad al-, 208
Afghanistan, 45, 46, 104, 131, 142, 143, 155
al-Qaeda in, 46, 130, 131, 137, 144
Kandahar, 145
Taliban in, 46, 130, 137, 144
Tora Bora, 130, 144
war in, 129–30
Agence France-Presse (AFP), 49–53, 58, 63, 214
Ain al-Hilweh, 136–38
Aisha, 92
Ajdabiya, 163, 164
Ajlouni, Mohammed, 73–74
Akyavas, Aziz, 174–76, 184, 187
Al-Aqsa, 55–58, 63
Al-Aqsa Mosque, 56
Alawites, 172, 181
Aleppo, 166, 178, 180, 182, 183, 189, 195, 197, 217
Al-Gama’a al-Islamiyya, 22
Al-Hadlaq, Abdulrahman, 141, 142
al-Ha’ir Prison, 145
Al-Hamidiya, 213
Ali (cousin and son-in-law of Mohammed), 2, 91–92, 103
Ali (driver and friend), 75, 76, 78, 79, 81, 106
aliyah, 51
Al Jazeera, 79, 111, 152, 159, 165, 173
Allah, 3, 7, 20, 28, 36, 38, 41, 92
Jews and Christians and, 44
Allawi, Ayad, 97, 100
al-Qaeda, 27, 35–36, 67, 106, 131, 133, 146, 181–82, 190, 191, 193, 201, 208, 216–17
in Afghanistan, 46, 130, 131, 137, 144
beheadings by, 134
founding of, 136–37
in Iraq, 8, 98, 129, 131–33, 135, 181
ISIS and, 193–95, 198, 206, 208
in Jordan, 133
prisoners from, 145
rehabilitation program for veterans of, 140–43, 145
rise of, 46
Saddam and, 129
Sulayman in, 143–46
weapons of, 144
Zawahiri and, 28
al-Rais, 7
Al-Rashid Hotel, 69, 73, 74, 76
Al Shaab, 19
Al-Shabaab, 201
Amish, 41, 42
Amman, 133
Amn al-Dawla, 19
Annan, Kofi, 178
Annas, Abu, 77, 84
Antakya, 194, 205
Antioch, 194
Arab caliphate, 20, 29, 31, 33–36, 39, 43, 44, 91–92, 194, 196
Arab-Israeli war, 208
Arab leaders, 5–9, 53, 87, 156, 194, 208–10
Arab Spring, 150, 156, 169, 178, 209, 213
in Egypt, 152–56, 166–67, 209
in Syria, 138, 156, 163, 166, 171–90
Arafat, Yasser, 55, 61–63, 112
Aristotle, 29
Arnett, Peter, 78, 82
Ashrawi, Hanan, 53
Assad, Bashar al-, 6, 8, 166, 169, 172–74, 176, 178–85, 198, 202, 206, 208
background of, 172
Obama and, 173
Assad, Bassel al-, 172
Assad, Hafez al-, 8, 172, 208
Assad family, 5–6, 87, 178, 208
Aswan, 212
Atarib, 179–80
Aziz, Tariq, 81–82
Ba’ath Party, 76–78, 81, 94, 173
Baghdad, 31, 60, 64, 67, 73, 74, 99, 102, 104, 133, 217
Al-Rashid Hotel in, 69, 73, 74, 76
Australian embassy bombing in, 89–90, 97, 98
bombing attacks in, 89–90, 96–98, 103–4
Canal Hotel in, 96
Engel in, 69–86, 89–91, 98–101, 103, 105, 115, 127
Flowers Land Hotel in, 69–70, 71
Hamra Hotel in, 89–90, 99, 101, 103, 105
Imma Bridge stampede in, 103
Kazimiya district in, 102–3
lawlessness in, 95
Mansour neighborhood of, 69
Mother of All Battles mosque in, 129
Palestine Hotel in, 76, 79–81, 83–85
sandstorm in, 79–80, 82
Shaab neighborhood of, 80
US bombing of, 70, 77–80, 82–84, 115
US capture of, 93
Baghdadi, Abu Bakr al-, 192
Baghdad International Airport, 83
Bahrain, 4–5, 93, 156, 157, 162
Bakran, Ali, 178, 179, 181–83
Balkiz, Ghazi, 184–88
Barak, Ehud, 55, 56, 60
Barbary Pirates, 3
Bardo National Museum, 200
BBC, 52, 63, 78, 165
beheadings, 96, 107, 134, 141, 195, 211
Beirut, 114, 123, 125
Dahiya neighborhood in, 117–18
Engel in, 107, 109, 115, 120, 127–28, 149
Israeli bombing of airport in, 114, 116–17
Bekaa Valley, 114
Ben Ali, Zine Al Abidine, 6, 7, 87, 150–51, 208
Benghazi, 159–66, 168, 180
Berg, Nick, 96
Bethlehem, 54, 62
Bilal Baroudi, Sheikh, 135–36
bin Laden, Osama, 27, 28, 34–39, 130, 143, 159
death of, 28, 143, 166
as historian, 28, 33–35
Saddam and, 8
speeches of, 28, 132
Sulayman and, 144–46
Taliban and, 46
training camps of, 143
Zarqawi and, 96, 98, 107, 131–32
Zawahiri and, 27–28, 143
Bint Jbeil, 121
Bloody Friday, 200–201
Bosnia, 45, 143
Bouazizi, Mohamed, 150
Brahimi, Rym, 78
Bremer, Paul “Jerry,” 94, 131
Britain, 5, 33, 216
Egypt and, 4
Iraq and, 4, 70, 77, 79, 80
Jordan and, 4
in Middle Eastern border creation, 1, 4
Palestine and, 5
Burundian soldiers, 201
Bush, George H. W., 155
Bush, George W., 7–9, 30, 94, 139, 209, 213
“crusade” statement of, 30, 139
Engel’s meeting with, 108
Saddam and, 64, 75–76, 87, 128, 129, 156
speech on Iraq, 75–76
Bush administration, 8, 113
Iraq and, 8, 60, 64, 86–87, 128, 130–32, 156
Bush Doctrine, 156
Byzantium, 29–32, 139
Cairo, 9, 14, 18, 21–22, 45, 51, 52, 66, 151–52
Engel in, 11–17, 36, 50, 53, 107, 149–50, 158, 160–62, 167, 211–12
Mit Ouba neighborhood of, 11–15
Tahrir Square demonstrations in, 151–54, 157, 166–67
Tahrir Square shooting in front of Egyptian Museum, 23–27, 51
Zamalek neighborhood of, 16–17, 23
Camp David Summit, 51, 53, 55–56
Carroll, Jill, 105
Carter Doctrine, 5, 155
Catholic Church, 30
Cefalù, 65
cell phones, 152, 174, 180
censorship, 21–22
Cervantes, Miguel de, 3
Chechnya, 45, 104, 143
China, 10–11, 216, 217, 219
Christ, 2, 44, 213
Christianity, 28, 29, 195
Christians, 1–3
Allah and, 44
in Crusades, 3, 4, 30, 31, 33–35, 139
as religious minority, 44
tourists, 26
Christian Science Monitor, 105
Church of the Holy Sepulchre, 212–13
CIA, 46, 129, 130, 137, 146, 174, 194
Clapper, James, 205
Clinton, Bill, 55, 56
CNN, 52, 63, 78, 82, 158, 165, 184
Cold War, 5, 11, 35, 46, 147
Columbus, Christopher, 32
Constantine the Great, 29, 30, 139
Constantinople, 4, 29–32, 35
Crusades, 3, 4, 30, 31, 33–35, 139
United States and, 30, 34, 139
Dahiya, 117–18
Dahiya Doctrine, 125–26
Damascus, 139, 166, 171, 177, 179, 180, 190, 199
Al-Hamidiya souk in, 213
Dante Alighieri, 2
Daraa, 166, 171–72
Dark Ages, 29, 30
democracy, 166
in Iraq, 93, 94, 98, 104, 132
in Middle East, 113, 128–39, 213
Divine Comedy (Dante), 2
Dome of the Chain, 56
Dome of the Rock, 56
Dulaimi Hotel, 75
Egypt, 5–7, 11, 13–14, 20–22, 35, 38, 43, 45, 51, 117, 136, 151–52, 158, 159, 168, 182, 208, 209, 211–12, 217
Aswan, 212
Britain and, 4
Cairo, see Cairo
censorship in, 21–22
Karnak complex in, 212
Luxor attack in, 27, 36, 51
Nile in, 14, 17, 23, 45, 168, 212
prisons in, 45–46
pyramids in, 212
revolution in, 152–56, 166–67, 209
Egyptian Museum, shooting at, 23–27, 36
Eisenhower Doctrine, 5, 155
Eizenkot, Gadi, 126
electromagnetic bombs, 70
Elephantine Island, 212
El Manial, 17
Engel, Richard:
at ABC, 63, 66, 73–75, 78, 86, 91
in Baghdad, 69–86, 89–91, 98–101, 103, 105, 115, 127
in Beirut, 107, 109, 115, 120, 127–28, 149
in Cairo, 11–17, 36, 50, 53, 107, 149–50, 158, 160–62, 167, 211–12
divorce of, 91, 111
first trip to Saudi Arabia, 38–39
first wife of, 50, 64–65, 91
as freelancer, 38, 49, 63, 65
in Iraq, 50, 46–67, 69–86, 89–91, 98–101, 105–7, 109, 127, 181
ISIS members met by, 195–98
ISIS victim met by, 201–5
in Istanbul, 156–57
in Jerusalem, 50, 51, 53, 58, 63–65
kidnapping of, 171, 184–89, 195, 197, 217–19
in Lebanon, 109–11, 114
in Libya, 158–68, 173
at Middle East Times, 16, 19, 21–22, 38
mother of, 75
Muslim Brotherhood and, 16–21, 36
at NBC, 91, 97, 100, 103, 104, 109, 111, 115, 122, 127, 149, 158, 166
as NBC bureau chief, 107, 109, 115, 127–28, 149
in New York, 149–50
as Palestinian-affairs correspondent for AFP, 49–53, 58, 63
Sicily house of, 65
at Stanford, 10–11, 50, 217
in Syria, 114, 138, 171, 174–90, 195–98, 218
Tabligh wa Dawa and, 36–38
video journal of, 89–90
visa of, 50, 65–66, 71, 73–74, 75
wife of, see Forrest, Mary
England, see Britain
Erdogan, Recep Tayyip, 174
Erekat, Saeb, 52, 53
Erez Crossing, 112
Euphrates River, 94
Europe, 32
in Dark Ages, 29, 30
industrial revolution in, 32
Middle East borders created by, 1, 3, 4, 6, 33–35, 138
Fallujah, 96, 133
Fatah, 61, 112, 113
Fatima, 92
FBI, 146
First Intifada, 58, 63
Flowers Land Hotel, 69–70, 71
Foley, James, 197
Forrest, Mary, 150, 186, 218–19
Foua, 187
Fox, 78
Fr
ance, 5, 33, 216
Lebanon and, 4
in Middle Eastern border creation, 1, 4
Free Syrian Army (FSA), 177, 179, 185, 195–98, 202
G8 leaders, 117
Gadhafi, Mu’ammar, 6–9, 87, 150, 158–61, 163, 165–68, 173, 180, 208, 214
capture and death of, 169, 172
speech by, 159
Gaza, 51, 111–14, 123, 124, 214
Geneva Convention, 79
Genghis Khan, 30
Germany, 3, 33, 216
Ghandoriyah, 125
ghost ranks, 193
Ghouta attack, 190
Gizbert, Richard, 104
Global War on Terrorism, 130, 146–47
Great Britain, see Britain
Greece, 22
Green Square, 161, 168
Guantánamo Bay (Gitmo), 140, 145
Guardian, 165
Gulf of Sidra, 160
Gulf War (1991), 8, 60, 64, 82, 86, 93, 155
Haditha, 135
Hagia Sophia, 32
Haifa, 61, 118, 123
hajj, 28, 39, 41, 42
Halutz, Dan, 113, 116, 122, 123
Hama, 8, 172
Hamas, 61, 63, 112, 113, 117, 214
Israeli soldier kidnapped by, 111–13
hawza, 97, 101
Hawza (newspaper), 95, 97
Hebron, 54
Herzegovina, 104
Hetherington, Tim, 165
Hezbollah, 113–14, 179, 187, 189
Israeli soldiers kidnapped by, 113, 122, 124
Israel’s cease-fire with, 124–25
Israel’s war with, 114–26, 127–28
Holy Land, 2, 30
homosexuality, 20, 43, 44–45
Homs, 177
Hondros, Chris, 165
Houla massacre, 177–78
Hurricane Katrina, 102
Hussein (Ali’s son), 92–93
Hussein, Qusay, 75–76, 77, 86, 192
Hussein, Saddam, see Saddam Hussein
Hussein, Uday, 75–76, 77, 86, 192
Ibn Saud, 4, 40–41, 207
Idris, Salim, 197–98
Ikhwan, 41
Imma Bridge stampede, 103
Independent, 165
India, 4
Inferno, L’, 2
Inferno (Dante), 2
International Herald Tribune, 10
Internet, 131, 135–36, 141, 142, 152, 155, 172, 180, 215
Iran, 35, 64, 93, 105, 107, 108, 109–11, 113, 114, 150, 189
And Then All Hell Broke Loose: Two Decades in the Middle East Page 20