Ambassador David C. Litt is a retired career US Foreign Service Officer. He spent the better part of 34 years specializing in the Middle East, the Mediterranean, Africa and Southwest Asia. Ambassador Litt served as the U.S. Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates (1995-1998). In 2005-2006 he was the third-ranking officer at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq, with the title of Political-Military Counselor, serving as liaison between the Embassy and the Multi-National Forces – Iraq. His final assignment was at the George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, where he taught courses in diplomacy and lectured on Middle East issues. Ambassador Litt was the State Department’s Political Advisor to U.S. Central Command and U.S. Special Operations Command at MacDill Air Force Base, Florida (1998-2004). Among other assignments, he served as economic/commercial officer in Kabul, Afghanistan, in the late 1970s, and twice as political officer in Damascus, Syria, in the 1980s.

Following his Foreign Service career, he spent 14 years in professional education at the Institute for Defense and Business in Chapel Hill, NC.
Ambassador Litt grew up in Miami, FL. He received a BA degree with majors in history and French from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1971, and an MA in International Relations from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) in Washington, D.C. in 1973. The focus of both academic degrees was on European affairs.

He is married to the former Beatrice Ilardi. They have two children and two grandchildren.

ISLAM AND THE GREATER MIDDLE EAST

THE RISE, SPREAD AND FRAGMENTATION OF ISLAM
Islam was born along the ancient trade routes of the Arabian Peninsula. Its message spread rapidly across the Middle East, North Africa and the Indian Ocean. Islam soon fractured along a major fault line, the consequences of which affect stability and security across the globe.

ARABIA FELIX, THE HIGHWAY BETWEEN EUROPE AND THE INDIES
The ancient trade routes between Europe and the Indies passed across Southwestern Arabia, dubbed “Arabia Felix” by the Romans. It was the ancient world’s source of frankincense, and later coffee. Today the origins of Southwestern Arabia’s frightful condition go back centuries.

THE HOUSE OF WISDOM: Algebra, Alchemy, and Algorithms from the Abbasid Empire
The Abbasid Dynasty in Baghdad produced the flourishing of original thought in science, mathematics, and medicine such as the world had never seen. The "House of Wisdom” was the bridge from the knowledge of the ancients to the European Renaissance.

SAND, OIL, GLASS, AND STEEL
The Arab side of the Persian Gulf was for centuries shunned by world commerce. The sudden rise in world demand for two key local commodities changed the fortunes of the Arabian emirates overnight. In just a few decades major Gulf cities have become gleaming metropolises. How did that happen?

GREAT BRITAIN IN THE MIDDLE EAST: Rise and Fall of Empire
In the age of Queen Elizabeth I, Great Britain combined commercial interest, imperial ambition, and military strength to acquire a global role in the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent. That lasted over 300 years, and then in the mid-20th century Britain suddenly ceded its dominant role in the Middle East to the United States.

NEW YORK, NEW ENGLAND, CANADA AND THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION

GEORGE WASHINGTON IN NEW YORK: Snatching Victory from the Jaws of Defeat
The American Revolution is usually associated with Boston and Philadelphia. But New York City also played a pivotal role in the war. Gen. George Washington failed to save New York from the British but succeeded in turning the colonies around to fight another day – and win.

THE BATTLES OF SARATOGA: Tipping Point of the American Revolution
British Gen. Burgoyne devised a plan to invade the colonies from Canada, in order cleave the North from the more loyal southern colonies. The plan failed catastrophically at Saratoga, and France formally allied with the Americans. Gen. Benedict Arnold, a hero of Saratoga, started on the path to treason.

THE BATTLE OF QUEBEC: The First Major Defeat of the American Revolution
The American colonists invaded Quebec early in the Revolutionary War in order to gain Canadian support for American interests. The British repelled the assault, the first major defeat for the Americans. The subsequent British reinforcement of Canada set the stage for the British plan to split the colonies in half.

SPIES AND TRAITORS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION
While American revolutionaries were espionage novices, George Washington was a better spymaster than military planner. His spies included Nathan Hale, Benjamin Franklin, and the Culper Ring. Benedict Arnold’s treason was luckily discovered at the last moment.

THE MEDITERRANEAN THROUGHOUT HISTORY

ARAB-NORMAN SICILY AND THE SICILIAN VESPERS
When most of Europe was poor and ignorant, Sicily was blossoming with art, culture and industry. Norman conquest transformed the island’s Arab society into a dynamic political powerhouse. The Kingdom of Sicily spread as far as Naples — at least until the Sicilian Vespers.

PORTUGAL: Europe’s First Global Seaborne Empire
Upstart Portugal defied the European powers, racing around Africa to establish new trading routes. The Portuguese model of seaborne empire was copied by the Netherlands, France, and Great Britain. Portugal’s heavy-handedness in Africa and the Indies, however, left a distasteful legacy.

THE ISLAND OF CRETE: Minoan Civilization and Venetian Empire
The Minoans dominated the Aegean for two millennia, contributing to the foundations of Western Civilization. It was a center of art and architecture a thousand years before the Golden Age of Greece. Venice occupied Crete in the Middle Ages, further contributing to its culture.

THE KNIGHTS HOSPITALLER: Jerusalem to Rhodes to Malta
The Knights Hospitaller began in Jerusalem in the 12th century, providing medical care to pilgrims traveling to the Holy Land. With the fall of Jerusalem, the Hospitallers moved to Rhodes, where they became a formidable military force. When the Ottomans expelled them from Rhodes, they moved to Malta, where they eked revenge by defeating the Ottoman armada.

CYPRUS: From Ancient Times to the European Union
Cyprus commanded the attention of Phoenicia, Greece, and Rome. During the Crusades, Cyprus played a key historical role. The foundations for Greek-Turkish rivalry over Cyprus were laid in those times. British involvement in the 19th century launched the island’s modern era.

THE ADRIATIC SEA: Zadar, Hvar, Trieste…and Venice
For 500 years the Republic of Venice ruled the Adriatic Sea. The Venetians fought the Ottoman Empire and dominated local rebels in Zadar and Hvar to maintain their supremacy. Trieste’s rich history unfolded in the 19th century, as part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Trieste became a cause célèbre among European powers in the 20th century.

THE ADRIATIC SEA: Dubrovnik, Split, Opatija…and Venice
Dubrovnik waged significant commercial and political challenges to Venice. Split has unique ancestral DNA among Dalmatian towns: its progenitor was a Roman Emperor. Visits to Opatija and its Istrian neighborhood will reveal interesting tales of balneologists and truffles.

THE ADRIATIC SEA: Venice, “La Serenissima”
Venice, “La Serenissima,” arose from sparse islands in a marshy lagoon to become a seaborne empire. A republic when other powers were monarchies or theocracies, Venice’s policies focused almost exclusively on business. Frequently that involved war, and Venice was prepared, dominating maritime trade between Europe, the Levant, and the Black Sea.

MALTA AND THE KNIGHTS HOSPITALLER
In 1530 the Holy Roman Emperor ceded Malta to the Knights Hospitaller. The Knights’ decades-long conflict with the Ottomans culminated in the Great Siege of Malta of 1565. The Knights defeated the Ottomans, setting the stage for Malta’s future growth and stability, culminating in European Union membership.

TUNISIA: Punic Wars to Arab Spring
Ancient Rome challenged Carthage for Mediterranean dominance. Rome vanquished Carthage after three wars, despite some tactical defeats at the hands of Hannibal. Tunisia arose from the ashes of Carthage to become an influential Muslim state. The Arab Spring was ignited in Tunis in 2010.

PORTO SANTO STEFANO: The Republic of Siena, and the Spanish Empire
Etruscan culture shaped Porto Santo Stefano. Later, it became a protégé of the Republic of Siena. Siena boasted cultural and economic grandeur well before its rival, Florence. That rivalry reflected struggles among the Pope, the Holy Roman Emperor, France, and others. Siena fell to Florence when the Spanish Empire dominated the region.

TYRRHENIAN ISLANDS: Elba, Sardinia, and Corsica
The Tyrrhenian Islands share common influences from ancient times. The three also suffered the rivalries between Genoa and Pisa for control over trade and resources. At the same time, each island contains unique stories, the nuraghe of Sardinia; the Corsican birthplace of Napoleon Bonaparte; and Elba, the site of Napoleon’s exile.

LIVORNO, THE MEDICI, AND TUSCANY
Livorno’s fame began with the Medici family. The Livornine Laws allowed the city to flourish with the arrival of Armenian, Greek, and Jewish immigrants. Later the city’s rapid industrialization turned Livorno into a center of syndical power.

CITIES OF THE ITALIAN AND FRENCH RIVIERAS
Genoa exercised power along the Ligurian and French Coasts. Portofino displays rich Genovese influence. Portovenere’s coastline, including Cinque Terre, influenced British Romantic writers like Shelley and Byron. France’s Menton is tied to the spunky Principality of Monaco. Nice was a 19th century paradise for the wealthy and well-connected, particularly Russian nobility.