October 2001 - After several years teaching the history of the modern Middle East, Associate Professor of history David Lesch had a revelation. “I found myself consistently using the year 1979 as a major breaking point in the Middle East in the post-World War II era.”  The result of his revelation has led to the publishing of his new book titled 1979:  The Year That Shaped the Modern Middle East.

What made that year a milestone?  Professor Lesch points to three major events that have had ripple effects in shaping on the Middle East today, especially in light of the events of Sept. 11. The first was the culmination of the Iranian revolution, which galvanized radical Muslims. According to Professor Lesch, groups of Muslims across the Middle East hailed the new Iranian government, based on  Islam, in place of the secular Arab governments found in other countries. The Iranian revolution also signaled the start of terrorist acts against the United States with the storming of the U.S. embassy in Teheran in November and the taking of American hostages by Muslim radicals.  

The second major event was the signing of the Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty.  The treaty  effectively diminished the chances of another major Arab-Israeli war because any Arab aggression would need to have the military support of Egypt. The treaty also signaled the end of a unified Arab world. “With Egypt out of the picture…the Arab world began to disintegrate into regional blocs, whether willingly or unwillingly,” says Professor Lesch.

The third event was the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Even though Afghanistan had been a long time Cold War ally of the Soviet Union, Soviet officials did not take kindly to a new Afghanistan government which was showing more independence. The Soviets marched into Afghanistan to set up a government, more to their liking. The war lasted for 10 years and, in the end, both sides lost.  The war helped bring on the disintegration of the Soviet Union and, after the Soviets left, Afghanistan had no strong government to lead the country.  The power vacuum gave the Taliban the advantage to take over and rule.

Professor Lesch says there are other years just as important to understanding the Middle East, such as 1967, the year of a major Arab-Israeli war.  However, many of the events in the last few decades, indeed in the last few weeks, can be directly traced to what happened in the tumultuous year of 1979. 

To speak to Professor David Lesch about his book and on the current Middle Eastern situation, contact: Russell Guerrero at (210) 999-8406 or at rguerrer@trinity.edu.