Part 25: Through a Glass Darkly

Our Man in the Middle East

Jeremy Bowen looks at some of the lessons of the past 25 years to find out what happens next in the Middle East. "Millions of lucky Europeans sun themselves on Mediterranean beaches this summer," he says. "None of us can afford to ignore what is happening just beyond the horizon, in the Middle East." Jeremy Bowen reflects on the present and the past of the Middle East, after reporting from the region for more than a quarter of a century. He combines first-hand accounts from the front line with an in-depth look into the region's history. He has witnessed endless wars between individuals, religious groups and full-sized states, jostling for military, political and economic power. He has interviewed dictators, fanatics and fundamentalists as well as the ordinary people caught up in their dangerous games. In that time, the past has always been present, providing motivation and political ammunition . Bowen has made headlines himself and he has paid a personal price, coming under fire and losing a colleague in the course of reporting - on the worst day, he says, in his life. Producers: Cara Swift and Ben Crighton.