Returning to Beirut after many years in America, Osama al-Kharrat finds a turbulent, war-torn city far different than that he remembers but takes solace in the entertaining stories of his grandfather.

Drawing on interviews with key military and diplomatic leaders, this Frontline episode examines the Obama administration's complicated struggle to deal with the deadly civil war in Syria, which by 2015 was in its fifth year.

Provides profiles on twelve Middle East countries, including information on their culture and history, and addresses the Arab-Israeli conflict and the role of oil in the Persian Gulf area.

"When New York Times foreign correspondent J.B. Collins hears rumors that an al-Qaeda splinter cell--ISIS--has captured a cache of chemical weapons inside Syria, Collins knows this is a story he must pursue at all costs. Does the commander of the jihadist faction really have the weapons? If so, who is the intended target? The U.S.? Israel? Or someone else? With tensions already high, the impending visit of the American president to the region could...

An inspiring and eye-opening tour of one of the world's oldest and most enigmatic cities. Destroyed and rebuilt countless times over 5,000 years, the city's enduring appeal remains a mystery. What made it so important to so many different cultures? How did it become the center of the world for three major religions? Why does it still matter to people?

"The bestselling author of The Secretary tells the gripping story of the real roots of the Sunni-Shia conflict in Middle East in the 1979 Iran Revolution that changed the region forever"--