David CristDavid Crist is currently a historian for the federal government and a frequent adviser to senior government and military officials on the Middle East. As a colonel in the US Marine Corps Reserve, Crist served in the first Gulf War, made two tors with elite special operations forces in Afghanistan and Iraq, and was part of the first US military forces inside Afghanistan who overthrew the Taliban. He received a BA from the University of Virginia and a master's and doctorate in Middle Eastern history from Florida State University. He lives in Potomac, Maryland. Read More Read Less