*Dr. Ghassan El-Eid, assoc. professor of political science at CCSU since 1989, is an internationally recognized expert on Middle East politics and the dynamics of terrorism. He is a political consultant for MSNBC and the CBS Hartford affiliate. He's been interviewed by numerous national TV and newspapers.
*He is a native of Lebanon and holds dual U.S.-Lebanonese citizenship.
* His wife (a real estate agent with an office in Waterbury, CT) and his three children are at the present time in a mountainous area near Beirut. There are 25,000 Americans in Lebanon and the U.S. embassy is making plans for evacuation, via ship to Cypress then home to the U.S. by commercial airlines.
*Ghassan, who has other family in Beirut, visits Lebanon regularly, at least four times a year for purposes of scholarly research conducted at American University, where he earned a bachelor's degree. (Ph.D. from University of Nebraska) He was to visit Lebanon two weeks ago, but was delayed. He had purchased an airline ticket to Beirut for last Thursday when the conflict erupted.
*Ghassan views in brief: The conflict between Israel and Lebanon has regional/international ramifications. He can summarize the political/military positions of both camps. His stance on the Middle East can be described as a balanced one. He believes the root causes of hostilities in the area are grounded in the network of inter-relations/complex issues between the various nations, i.e., Israel, Palestine, Syria, Lebanon, as well as Iran and Iraq. He predicts "the most we can hope for is a cease fire." A question he might consider: How would the cease fire be brokered?
