In this powerful and passionate critique of the 'war on terror' in Afghanistan and its extensions into Palestine and Iraq, Derek Gregory traces the long history of British and American involvements in the Middle East and shows how colonial power continues to cast long shadows over our own present. Argues the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11 activated a series of political and cultural responses that were profoundly colonial in nature. The first analysis of the "war on terror" to connect events in Afghanistan, Palestine, and Iraq. Traces the connections between geopolitics and the lives of ordinary people. Richly illustrated and packed with empirical detail.

Derek Gregory (March 1, 1951) is an influential British geographer from the United Kingdom. He is currently professor of geography at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, having previously worked at Cambridge University.

Gregory is best known for his book The Colonial Present:Afghanistan, Palestine and Iraq, published in 2004. This book discusses the actions of Israel, the United States of America and the United Kingdom in the Middle East after 9/11. It reflects how the popular discourses found in the media and in political circles indicates a continued Orientalism and colonialism. His writings are heavily influenced by the work of Edward Said. Gregory is said to be a post-modern geographer.

Earlier works by Gregory have concentrated on political, cultural and historical geography. He has also contributed to theoretical writing on Imagined geographies and David Harvey. A book published in 1994, Geographical Imaginations, reveals the cultural expressions which result from perceptions of place.