Middle East Policy has been one of the world’s most cited publications on the region since its inception in 1982, and our Breaking Analysis series makes high-quality, diverse analysis available to a broader audience.
Middle East Policy Council
We at the Council are mourning the death of our former president, George McGovern (see his full obituary here). Active almost to the end, at 90, Senator McGovern had garnered public accolades in Washington on his birthday in July and was busy with his library at Dakota Wesleyan University, where he had taught history after World War II. He always downplayed his status as a bomber pilot in Europe; combat had made him intimately familiar with its costs. He worked toward peace during his political career and afterward, for example, when he became head of the Middle East Policy Council. He had served on our Board of Directors for two years and succeeded George Naifeh, the founder, in 1991, raising our profile and lending prestige to our efforts. Years after leaving, he continued to write on the subject of peace, co-authoring Out of Iraq with William Polk in 2006.
Senator McGovern became chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in 1974 and made a tour of the Middle East at that time. Most of the political leaders he visited were still (or again, in the case of the Israelis) in power in 1991. He was a familiar and honored guest. This was the “Madrid period.” President George H.W. Bush had chased Saddam Hussein out of Kuwait and brought the leaders of the war coalition and the nations of the Middle East together to work toward a comprehensive regional peace. By the next summer, the Oslo talks between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization were revealed and an agreement was signed on the White House lawn. Senator McGovern was present at the occasion. President Bill Clinton, the host, had been a campaign worker for Senator McGovern in 1972. The president later tapped Senator McGovern to head the U.S. delegation to the two world food programs in Rome. We were sorry to see him leave, but we knew we couldn’t keep him forever. World hunger had been his cause from the beginning of his political career. Before leaving, the senator gave the Council an invaluable gift: he persuaded Chas W. Freeman, Jr., to succeed him.
Peace and justice, not just avoiding war, were significant values to George McGovern, and we are proud of the fact that he helped to provide resonance to them through his leadership at the Middle East Policy Council. He was also our friend, and we are grateful for having had the opportunity to know him. May he rest in peace.
Middle East Policy has been one of the world’s most cited publications on the region since its inception in 1982, and our Breaking Analysis series makes high-quality, diverse analysis available to a broader audience.
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One of the most frequently cited journals on the Middle East in the field of international affairs, Middle East Policy has been engaging thoughtful minds for more than 40 years with high-quality, diverse analysis on the region.
Middle East Policy Council
We at the Council are mourning the death of our former president, George McGovern (see his full obituary here). Active almost to the end, at 90, Senator McGovern had garnered public accolades in Washington on his birthday in July and was busy with his library at Dakota Wesleyan University, where he had taught history after World War II. He always downplayed his status as a bomber pilot in Europe; combat had made him intimately familiar with its costs. He worked toward peace during his political career and afterward, for example, when he became head of the Middle East Policy Council. He had served on our Board of Directors for two years and succeeded George Naifeh, the founder, in 1991, raising our profile and lending prestige to our efforts. Years after leaving, he continued to write on the subject of peace, co-authoring Out of Iraq with William Polk in 2006.
Senator McGovern became chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in 1974 and made a tour of the Middle East at that time. Most of the political leaders he visited were still (or again, in the case of the Israelis) in power in 1991. He was a familiar and honored guest. This was the “Madrid period.” President George H.W. Bush had chased Saddam Hussein out of Kuwait and brought the leaders of the war coalition and the nations of the Middle East together to work toward a comprehensive regional peace. By the next summer, the Oslo talks between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization were revealed and an agreement was signed on the White House lawn. Senator McGovern was present at the occasion. President Bill Clinton, the host, had been a campaign worker for Senator McGovern in 1972. The president later tapped Senator McGovern to head the U.S. delegation to the two world food programs in Rome. We were sorry to see him leave, but we knew we couldn’t keep him forever. World hunger had been his cause from the beginning of his political career. Before leaving, the senator gave the Council an invaluable gift: he persuaded Chas W. Freeman, Jr., to succeed him.
Peace and justice, not just avoiding war, were significant values to George McGovern, and we are proud of the fact that he helped to provide resonance to them through his leadership at the Middle East Policy Council. He was also our friend, and we are grateful for having had the opportunity to know him. May he rest in peace.