Mr. Tom Locke visits the Rise of the Modern Middle East Capstone

It isn’t every day that the Head of School T.J. Locke sits in a desk and raises his hand in class, but that is exactly what happened when his father came to speak to Dr. Miller’s “Rise of the Modern Middle East” Capstone class. Dr. Locke, Dr. Miller, and the seniors had plenty of questions for Tom Locke, as he talked about his time in Beirut, Lebanon just after the 1983 U.S. Embassy Bombing. Miller’s Capstone class focuses on the Middle East’s storied history and how that region has developed into what it is today. By examining historical events and current issues, seniors will eventually highlight one area of the Middle East for their final project. In this case, they were able to hear a first-hand account of what the climate was like in Beirut after what is believed to have been the deadliest attack on a U.S. diplomatic mission up to that point.

Mr. Locke discussed what it was like working out of the British Embassy, collecting evidence, and attempting to find suspects in a very hostile environment. His mission was the first time the FBI sent anyone overseas to investigate a terrorist act. He touched on the differences between Beirut in 1983 and Beirut now. Because he traveled extensively in the Middle East during his tenure with the FBI, he spoke about how tight security is there. He said his involvement in the first 30 days after the 9/11 terrorist attacks were some of the busiest days of his career. He spent the last few minutes touching on his time with the Drug Enforcement Agency in the jungles of the Amazon.

Dr. Miller notes: “Since our conversations have been about the historic and conceptual forces that created the modern middle east, it was a real pleasure for the students to speak with someone who has had such first-hand and direct contact with the region. We were delighted to have him share his expertise, and in the best fashion of Newman seniors, they were pleased to engage him with specific, hard questions about the region.”