This expose documents how a small group of Westerners came to be the victims of a form of diplomacy which was widely believed to have died out in the Middle Ages. The origins of the Lebanese hostage affair were as recent as February 1984, when the newly-enfranchized Shi'ite Muslims decided they had had enough political double-talk and seized control of West Beirut, by tradition the city's Muslim enclave. Con Coughlin, a journalist specializing in Middle-East affairs, examines the key issues: could more have been done to end the hostages' ordeal sooner? Who should ultimately carry the blame for the kidnapping? Was Oliver North justified in trading arms to Iran? What was Terry Waite's involvement with Oliver North and how did he contribute to his own abduction? Was the policy of the British and American governments not to do deals realistic, or should the more humanitarian consideration of the hostages' suffering have taken precedence? The book offers an account of the historical and political background of an issue that dominated headlines for the better part of a decade.