The new book, "Grand Delusion: The Fall and Rise of American Ambition in the Middle East," is the culmination of Steven Simon’s almost 40 years of expertise and insider foreign policy access. The book is a deeply informed reckoning with U.S. involvement in the Middle East.
As we commemorate the 20th anniversary of the US invasion of Iraq and the fall of Baghdad, Simon’s new book explores Middle East policies of each President since Ronald Reagan.
Steven Simon served on the National Security Council staff as senior director for Middle Eastern and North African affairs 2011-2012. He also worked on the NSC staff 1994-1999 on counterterrorism and Middle East security policy. These assignments followed a fifteen-year career at the U.S. Department of State.