Studying countries that no longer exist

Condoleeza Rice and I have something in common. We are both experts in the history of countries that no longer exist.

Now, when she began to study the Soviet Union it did exist and she did not expect it to become history as soon as it did. No one did.

The successor states to the Soviet Union are still important in world affairs. Russia in particular is still a major power, if no longer a superpower in the same category as the United States. So her expertise is important.

However, many of the problems of the world today, from Bosnia to Palestine to Iraq, are the result of the collapse of an empire which collapsed long before the Soviet Union. I am, of course, referring to the Ottoman Empire. The problems caused by the collapse of that long ago empire, not the problems caused by the collapse of the Soviet Union, are the problems that are causing the most problems for the United States today.

Isn't it about time we had a Secretary of State, or a National Security advisor, who is an expert on the Ottoman Empire?