Suggested reading:
"A Peace To End All Peace" by David Fromkin.
Though somewhat tedious at times, it is an extremely informative and in depth study of the end of WWI, which, as we all know coincides with the
creation of the modern Middle East. More precisely, how the axis powers sliced up the map of the defeated Ottoman empire by drawing lines in the sand
and splitting the territory up among themselves.
Along with the obvious problems of not taking into consideration the different tensions which existed among the different tribal groups when dividing
up the spoils, the book delves into the very interesting points which led one tribal leader to be chosen as King of the new nation, while the others
where demoted to serfdom.
BUT, the point which deals with this thread is the political influence that both Christian and Jewish Zionists had on the British government at the
time.
Most understand that Zionists, in a nutshell, are hardcore believers in biblical prophesy, in particular, those which deal with the apocalypse. They
insist that all the conditions detailed in these chapters of the bible must exist to (a) ensure the coming of the Messiah (for the Jewish Zionists) or
(b) ensure the
second coming of the Messiah (for the Christian Zionists).
Needless to say, the end goal is the same in both cases, even though both believe the other will burn for eternity because they have wrongly
interpreted the holy texts.
Of course, especially following WWII, more pragmatic strategic interests for the relationships between and with the Middle Eastern countries have come
into play.
The cynic in me believes that politicians are using these religious beliefs to impose specific geo-political strategies... Of course, it could also be
the other way around!?!
Well, I hope I haven't rambled on too much, but this is a very complex topic. Of extreme interest in the book, for me, was the realization that
communications in desert operations in 1913 were NOT of the cell phone type, which led many officers on the ground to make vastly influential
decisions, in some cases counter to their official orders, simply because the information could not get where it had to be on time.
the Billmeister
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