David Crist's new book chronicles what he calls the Secret History of America's 30 year conflict with Iran. Our discussion with David Crist takes a look at what he calls the Twilight War -- one that often seems to be creeping further into the darkness. If you really want to understand what's unfolding this week, don't miss this interview.

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David Crist: The Twilight War

We started this segment with a CBC report from Tehran on January 16, 1979, the day the Shah fled Iran. The revolution that saw the Shah sink and the clerics rise was the beginning of the long simmering conflict between Washington and Tehran.

So far that conflict has been low intensity. But Iran seems unshakable in its nuclear ambitions and Canada is now participating in the U.S. navy's exercises in the Straits of Hormuz. Tensions do not seem to be easing.

David Crist has spent a lot of time thinking about Iran. He is a colonel in the U.S. Marine Corps reserve, and a senior historian with the Pentagon. His father was General George Crist, who as head of Central Command during the mid-1980s, was intimately involved in US strategies targeting Iran.

David Crist's new book is The Twilight War: The Secret History of America's Thirty-Year Conflict with Iran. And David Crist was in our Washington studio.

This segment was produced by The Current's Howard Goldenthal.

Other segments from today's show:

The Accidental War: American-Iranian Relations

The Ethics of Conservation: Endangered Species