About the Program
The Persian Gulf remains tense as the rivalry between the regional powers of Saudi Arabia and Iran continues. Tensions escalated in early 2020 as the United States began to intervene in the Gulf, launching an airstrike that killed two Iranian military commanders. What are the historical influences that have led to these tensions? What role, if any, should the United States play? Is using military force a viable foreign policy option for 2021 and beyond?
About the Speaker
Gary Sick is a senior research scholar at Columbia University's Middle East Institute and an adjunct professor at the School of International and Public Affairs. He served on the National Security Council under Presidents Ford, Carter, and Reagan. He was the principal White House aide for Iran during the Iranian Revolution and the hostage crisis. Sick is a captain (ret.) in the U.S. Navy, with service in the Persian Gulf, North Africa, and the Mediterranean.
From 1982 to 1987, Sick served as deputy director for international affairs at the Ford Foundation, where he was responsible for programs relating to U.S. foreign policy. He is a member (emeritus) of the board of Human Rights Watch in New York and founding chair of its advisory committee on the Middle East and North Africa. He is the executive director of Gulf/2000, an international online research project on political, economic and security developments in the Persian Gulf, being conducted at Columbia University since 1993 with support from a number of major foundations.
Sick was voted one of the top five teachers in 2009 at the School of International and Public Affairs. He is the author of All Fall Down: America's Tragic Encounter With Iran (Random House 1985) and October Surprise: America's Hostages in Iran and the Election of Ronald Reagan (Random House 1991).
About the Moderator
Dr. Michael Makara is an associate professor of Political Science at the University of Central Missouri. His research focuses on politics in authoritarian regimes and civil-military relations, with a regional focus on the Middle East. Dr. Makara worked in Jordan for over two years as a research fellow with both Fulbright and the American Center of Oriental Research (ACOR). During that time he traveled throughout the Middle East, including in Morocco, Israel, Turkey, Lebanon, and Yemen.
Sustaining Series Sponsor
Cyprienne Simchowitz
Supporting Series Sponsor
Nancy Messer
Great Decisions
Great Decisions is America's largest discussion program on world affairs. The program involves reading the Great Decisions Briefing Book and meeting in a discussion group to discuss the most critical international issues facing the United States, and the global community, today. From libraries, homes, retirement communities, universities, high schools, and more – and now on Zoom – meeting locations are endless.
