Claude Salhani (March 25, 1952 – August 13, 2022) was born in Cairo. He was a Lebanese, French & American photographer for

United Press International United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th ce ...

(UPI) and

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency ...

news agencies, later head of UPI Photos and UPI Foreign Desk Editor as well as policy expert and author, best known for his photographic reportage of the 23 October

1983 Beirut barracks bombings On October 23, 1983, two truck bombs were detonated at buildings in Beirut, Lebanon, housing American and French service members of the Multinational Force in Lebanon (MNF), a military peacekeeping operation during the Lebanese Civil War. The ...

on the

United States Marines The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the Marines, maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expedi ...

. During his journalism career, Salhani covered

Black September Black September (), also known as the Jordanian Civil War, was an armed conflict between Jordan, led by Hussein of Jordan, King Hussein, and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), led by chairman Yasser Arafat. The main phase of the fight ...

, the

Lebanon Civil War The Lebanese Civil War ( ) was a multifaceted armed conflict that took place from 1975 to 1990. It resulted in an estimated 150,000 fatalities and led to the exodus of almost one million people from Lebanon. The religious diversity of the ...

, the

Turkish invasion of Cyprus The Turkish invasion of Cyprus began on 20 July 1974 and progressed in two phases over the following month. Taking place upon a background of Cypriot intercommunal violence, intercommunal violence between Greek Cypriots, Greek and Turkish Cy ...

, the Dhofar War (Oman), the Iran-Iraq War, the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon, the

1979 Iranian Revolution The Iranian Revolution (, ), also known as the 1979 Revolution, or the Islamic Revolution of 1979 (, ) was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynasty in 1979. The revolution led to the replacement of the Impe ...

, the

Gulf War , combatant2 = , commander1 = , commander2 = , strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems , page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...

, the

Fall of the Berlin Wall The fall of the Berlin Wall (, ) on 9 November in German history, 9 November 1989, during the Peaceful Revolution, marked the beginning of the destruction of the Berlin Wall and the figurative Iron Curtain, as East Berlin transit restrictions we ...

, the Czech

Velvet Revolution The Velvet Revolution () or Gentle Revolution () was a non-violent transition of power in what was then Czechoslovakia, occurring from 17 November to 28 November 1989. Popular demonstrations against the one-party government of the Communist Pa ...

, and the

Iraq War The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with 2003 invasion of Iraq, the invasion by a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition, which ...

(

Operation Enduring Freedom Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) was the official name used by the U.S. government for both the first stage (2001–2014) of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) and the larger-scale Global War on Terrorism. On 7 October 2001, in response ...

) as well as the wider Middle East, Europe, and Africa.

Background

Claude Salhani was born on March 25, 1952, in Cairo, Egypt. In the 2000s, he earned an MA in Conflict Analysis and Management from

Royal Roads University Royal Roads University (also referred to as RRU or Royal Roads) is a public university with its main campus in Colwood, British Columbia, Canada. The university is located at Hatley Park National Historic Site on Vancouver Island and is the succ ...

Career

In 1970, age 18, Salhani joined ''

An-Nahar ''An-Nahar'' () is a leading Arabic-language daily newspaper published in Lebanon. In the 1980s, ''An-Nahar'' was described by ''The'' ''New York Times'' and ''Time Magazine'' as the newspaper of record for the entire Arab world. History and p ...

'' and '' L'Orient-Le Jour'' newspapers in Beirut. He covered clashes between Jordanian and Palestinian forces ("

") in Jordan. By 1973, he had joined Sygma photo agency, whose clients included ''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

'' and ''

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly news magazine based in New York City. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely distributed during the 20th century and has had many notable editors-in-chief. It is currently co-owned by Dev P ...

'' magazines, and landed photos on at least two covers of ''Time'' (1973, 1975). He worked for Sygma until 1980. In 1981, he became head of UPI Photos for the Middle East; in 1983, he covered the bombing of US Marine Corps barracks in Beirut. In 1984, he joined

news agency as head of Reuters Photos for Europe, Middle East, and Africa; he lived in Brussels, London, and Paris. In the early 1990s, he moved to Washington, first to head US operations for

Sipa Press Sipa Press is a French photo agency based in Paris. Overview It was founded in 1973 by the Turkish news photographer and photojournalist Gökşin Sipahioğlu together with American writer Phyllis Springer, concentrating their focus on photojourn ...

and then to rejoin UPI as head of Photos through the rest of the 1990s and in 2000 international editor. He also served as editor for the ''Middle East Times'' and the ''

Washington Times ''The Washington Times'' is an American conservative daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It covers general interest topics with an emphasis on national politics. Its broadsheet daily edition is distributed throughout Washington, D. ...

''. Later, Salhani became a media analyst for major newspapers and an international television station. He contributed to publications by '' The National'' (UAE), the

Cato Institute The Cato Institute is an American libertarian think tank headquartered in Washington, D.C. It was founded in 1977 by Ed Crane, Murray Rothbard, and Charles Koch, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Koch Industries.Koch ...

, and

American Foreign Service Association The American Foreign Service Association (AFSA), established in 1924, is the professional association of the United States Foreign Service. With over 15,000 due-paying members, AFSA represents 28,000 active and retired Foreign Service employees ...

. He also appeared on

C-SPAN Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network (C-SPAN ) is an American Cable television in the United States, cable and Satellite television in the United States, satellite television network, created in 1979 by the cable television industry as a Non ...

television.

Personal life and death

Salhani married Cynthia Nuckolls; they had two children, Justin and Isabelle. Salhani had many narrow escapes on the front lines. In 1981, Salhani inside the Reuters building when Israeli artillery hit it and escaped with minor injury. On another occasion, a Palestinian splinter group detained him;

Yasser Arafat Yasser Arafat (4 or 24 August 1929 – 11 November 2004), also popularly known by his Kunya (Arabic), kunya Abu Ammar, was a Palestinian political leader. He was chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) from 1969 to 2004, Presid ...

of the

Palestine Liberation Organization The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO; ) is a Palestinian nationalism, Palestinian nationalist coalition that is internationally recognized as the official representative of the Palestinians, Palestinian people in both the occupied Pale ...

secured his release. In 1983, while photographing the 1983 bombing of USMC HQ barracks in Beirut, he also helped dig out survivors. Salhani was personal friends with

Gibran Tueni Gebran Ghassan Tueni (; 15 September 1957 – 12 December 2005) was a Lebanese people, Lebanese politician and the former editor and publisher of daily paper ''An-Nahar, An Nahar'', established by his grandfather, also named Gebran Tueni (j ...

, founder of ''An-Nahar''. He was a mentor to many photographers and journalists, including UPI and Reuters colleagues Martin Sieff, Dalal Saoud, Aline Manoukian, and Jack Dabaghian, all of whom paid tribute to him. Claude Salhani died age 70 on August 13, 2022, in Paris, France, and a service was held at

Père Lachaise Cemetery Père Lachaise Cemetery (, , formerly , ) is the largest cemetery in Paris, France, at . With more than 3.5 million visitors annually, it is the most visited necropolis in the world. Buried at Père Lachaise are many famous figures in the ...

Awards

* Honorary US Marine Corps member for help during the 1983 bombing on USMC HQ Beirut *

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prizes () are 23 annual awards given by Columbia University in New York City for achievements in the United States in "journalism, arts and letters". They were established in 1917 by the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made his fo ...

nominee for photographs of the 1983 bombing on USMC HQ Beirut

Legacy

The US

National Portrait Gallery National Portrait Gallery may refer to: * National Portrait Gallery (Australia), in Canberra * National Portrait Gallery (Sweden), in Mariefred *National Portrait Gallery (United States), in Washington, D.C. *National Portrait Gallery, London ...

has a photograph of

by Salhani dated 1974. Since the 1970s, Salhani's photos, editorials, and personal recollections also became sources for other books on history and policy, as well as for his own memoir, ''Black September to Desert Storm'' (1998). In 1995, US Ambassador David D. Pearce called him "one of the premier photographers of the war in Lebanon." In 2022, UPI colleague Martin Sieff called him "the

Willie Mays Willie Howard Mays Jr. (May 6, 1931 – June 18, 2024), nicknamed "the Say Hey Kid", was an American professional baseball center fielder who played 23 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of ...

of journalism – he could – and did do everything well." Occasionally, Salhani himself appeared as an actor in history, for example

Thomas L. Friedman Thomas Loren Friedman ( ; born July 20, 1953) is an American political commentator and author. He is a three-time Pulitzer Prize winner who is a weekly columnist for ''The New York Times''. He has written extensively on foreign affairs, global ...

's 1990 book ''From Beirut to Jerusalem'' and

David Petraeus David Howell Petraeus (; born 7 November 1952) is a retired United States Army General (United States), general who served as the fourth director of the Central Intelligence Agency from September 2011 until his resignation in November 2012. Pri ...

and

Nigel West Rupert William Simon Allason (born 8 November 1951) is a British former Conservative Party politician and author. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Torbay in Devon, from 1987 to 1997. He writes books and articles on the subject of esp ...

's 2016 ''Spycraft Secrets''. Salhani contributed personal photos to US military historians including former US Marine Benis M. Frank in his 1987 book ''U.S. Marines in Lebanon, 1982-1984'' and former US Navy SEAL Chuck Pfarrer in his 2003 book ''Warrior Soul''.

Works

Books

;Books (Non-Fiction) Authored * ''Black September to Desert Storm : A Journalist in the Middle East'' (1998) * ''While the Arab World Slept: The Impact of the Bush years on the Middle East'' (2009) * ''Islam Without a Veil: Kazakhstan's Path of Moderation'' (2011) ;Books (Fiction) Authored * ''Inauguration Day: A Thriller'' (2015)

Articles

;Articles for UPI * "The other Sept. remembrance" (2002) * "Analysis: What is Plan B in the Iraq War?" (2003) * "Iraq: One year Later" (2003) * "Analysis: Preparing the post-Arafat Era" (2004) * "Politics & Policies: Iran a Clear Danger" (2005) * "Analysis: Today They Killed My Friend" (2005) * "Politics & Policies: Ahmadinejad's Antics" (2005) * "Jordanian Role Larger Than First Reported" (2006) * "Intelligence Summit Takes Flak" (2007) * "Analysis: Outsourcing war is good business" (2007) ;Articles for ''The National'' (UAE) * "

Al Jazeera Al Jazeera Media Network (AJMN; , ) is a private-media conglomerate headquartered in Wadi Al Sail, Doha, funded in part by the government of Qatar. The network's flagship channels include Al Jazeera Arabic and Al Jazeera English, which pro ...

's historic role in Arab political change becomes a news story in itself" (2011) * "Hamas cools to Syria as the Arab Spring's tally mounts" (2011) * "Fighting an old war on terror requires new coordination" (2011) * "Turkey takes a leading role in the region but not everyone applauds" (2011) ;Articles for the ''Washington Times'' * "Lebanon on a Tinderbox" (2006) * "Kazakhstan assumes presidency of Europe security group" (2010) * "Kazakh official warns against quitting Afghanistan" (2010) * "Kazakh crackdown on media exposes vulnerabilities" (2010) * "Revolt in Central Asia" (2010) * "Key player in nuclear, Afghan security" (2010) * "Is Iran behind an attempted coup?" (2010) ; Articles for the Cato Institute * "The Syria Accountability Act: Taking the Wrong Road to Damascus" (2005) ;Articles for ''Foreign Service Journal'' * "Resolving the Palestine Question" (2003) ;Articles for ''The National Interest'' * "Olmert's Secret Weapon: Prime Minister Deployed a Boomerang" (2006) * "Live from Lebanon" (2006)

Background

Career

Personal life and death

Awards

Legacy

Works

Books

Articles

References

External links