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Mikey B.'s Reviews > The Great War For Civilisation: The Conquest of the Middle East
The Great War For Civilisation: The Conquest of the Middle East
by
by
Mikey B.'s review
bookshelves: autobiography, islam, journalism, middle-east, war, 20th-century-history, 21st-century-history, human-rights
Sep 03, 2008
bookshelves: autobiography, islam, journalism, middle-east, war, 20th-century-history, 21st-century-history, human-rights
A Tour de Force...
This book is a literary opus. It is extremely well-written; and I am talking of a book of 1,000 plus pages. Surprisingly, it is written in the first person; based on interviews and up front experiences. The author has lived in the Middle East for over thirty years and the book is journalistic-history with the emphasis on journalism.
This is a book about war - this is no dry, academic dissertation - it is a personal experience and I suspect somewhat of a catharsis and a labour of love for the author to have written this book.
I am no expert on the Middle East, but I felt I learnt a lot from this book. Also, after reading this book I have no great desire to visit the Middle East - I prefer my quiet and peaceful Canadian homeland.
The book made me re-evaluate my views on Israel. To borrow a christian expression: there are NO saints in the Middle East - or more to the point; no peacemakers.
Mr. Fisk has spent considerable time in Lebanon and Israel - plus Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Jordan and Algeria. He writes with authority about each of these countries - about the turbulent catastrophic events that have occurred there: the Iran-Iraq wars, the Russian, and then American invasion of Afghanistan, the Gulf War and the current disastrous American invasion/occupation of Iraq, the Israeli-Palestinian-Lebanese war (or annexation of Palestinian land)- it is all in this book. Even the Armenian genocide has first-hand accounts by Mr. Fisk.
With war, Mr. Fisk does not spare us - some of the descriptions are horrific and some are beyond the horrific. There are mutilations of children by "Smart bombs," Israeli helicopters kill children in ambulances, suicide bombers kill children in pizzerias, Iranian armies recruit teenagers who believe they will go to "nirvana" to walk through minefields.
Torture is endemic. None who have gone to the Middle East have resisted this disease (we all saw the pictures of Abu Ghraib).
Mr. Fisk also does a Michael Moore by reclaiming the remnants of a missile that killed children. He returns with these fragments to the manufacturers in the United States and presents them with the photographic consequences of their nefarious product.
No one is spared or excused by Mr. Fisk. All come under scrutiny in his writings and first hand observations.
In a sense the book (all 1,038 pages) can be quite relentless. Part of this is because there are no solutions offered. How does one plea with a suicide bomber? How does one reason with a people who believe it their right to dispossess another group from their homes?
There are times when Mr. Fisk seems to feel he has a monopoly on the truth - he is for the most part quite scathing of other newspapers and media except his own. I am a frequent reader of "The New York Times" and cannot remember a favourable article on the Bush administration in that paper for several years. From reading Mr. Fisk's book, one would think that The New York Times was a virtual mouthpiece of the Bush administration; constantly trumpeting the alleged successes of the U.S. in all Middle Eastern countries.
Also in a chapter on Afghanistan, Mr. Fisk states that the Taliban were not actively profiting from the exportation of narcotics. Mr. Fisk cites a reference from "" a book by Ahmed Rashid -on the treachery of Afghan warlords. In the same book by Mr. Rashid, there is an entire chapter devoted to describing how the Taliban were profiting enormously from heroin and drug trafficking.
I also found Mr. Fisk on shakier ground when describing the world after-effects of 9/11. What does he expect a superpower to do when major cities are senselessly and ruthlessly attacked - initiate peace talks with Al Qaeda?!
Though it is deplorable and has cost massive human loss - the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq are "civilized" if we compare them to other 20th century invasions - like the German invasion of Poland, or for that matter; the American invasion of Vietnam. In Iraq a vicious dictator was deposed and arrested. In both countries, real elections have occurred for the first time in many years.
Nevertheless this is a very moving and passionate book - there is much to be gained from a thorough reading of it. I now have a different perspective and will read articles on the Middle East with a more discerning eye.
This book is a literary opus. It is extremely well-written; and I am talking of a book of 1,000 plus pages. Surprisingly, it is written in the first person; based on interviews and up front experiences. The author has lived in the Middle East for over thirty years and the book is journalistic-history with the emphasis on journalism.
This is a book about war - this is no dry, academic dissertation - it is a personal experience and I suspect somewhat of a catharsis and a labour of love for the author to have written this book.
I am no expert on the Middle East, but I felt I learnt a lot from this book. Also, after reading this book I have no great desire to visit the Middle East - I prefer my quiet and peaceful Canadian homeland.
The book made me re-evaluate my views on Israel. To borrow a christian expression: there are NO saints in the Middle East - or more to the point; no peacemakers.
Mr. Fisk has spent considerable time in Lebanon and Israel - plus Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Jordan and Algeria. He writes with authority about each of these countries - about the turbulent catastrophic events that have occurred there: the Iran-Iraq wars, the Russian, and then American invasion of Afghanistan, the Gulf War and the current disastrous American invasion/occupation of Iraq, the Israeli-Palestinian-Lebanese war (or annexation of Palestinian land)- it is all in this book. Even the Armenian genocide has first-hand accounts by Mr. Fisk.
With war, Mr. Fisk does not spare us - some of the descriptions are horrific and some are beyond the horrific. There are mutilations of children by "Smart bombs," Israeli helicopters kill children in ambulances, suicide bombers kill children in pizzerias, Iranian armies recruit teenagers who believe they will go to "nirvana" to walk through minefields.
Torture is endemic. None who have gone to the Middle East have resisted this disease (we all saw the pictures of Abu Ghraib).
Mr. Fisk also does a Michael Moore by reclaiming the remnants of a missile that killed children. He returns with these fragments to the manufacturers in the United States and presents them with the photographic consequences of their nefarious product.
No one is spared or excused by Mr. Fisk. All come under scrutiny in his writings and first hand observations.
In a sense the book (all 1,038 pages) can be quite relentless. Part of this is because there are no solutions offered. How does one plea with a suicide bomber? How does one reason with a people who believe it their right to dispossess another group from their homes?
There are times when Mr. Fisk seems to feel he has a monopoly on the truth - he is for the most part quite scathing of other newspapers and media except his own. I am a frequent reader of "The New York Times" and cannot remember a favourable article on the Bush administration in that paper for several years. From reading Mr. Fisk's book, one would think that The New York Times was a virtual mouthpiece of the Bush administration; constantly trumpeting the alleged successes of the U.S. in all Middle Eastern countries.
Also in a chapter on Afghanistan, Mr. Fisk states that the Taliban were not actively profiting from the exportation of narcotics. Mr. Fisk cites a reference from "" a book by Ahmed Rashid -on the treachery of Afghan warlords. In the same book by Mr. Rashid, there is an entire chapter devoted to describing how the Taliban were profiting enormously from heroin and drug trafficking.
I also found Mr. Fisk on shakier ground when describing the world after-effects of 9/11. What does he expect a superpower to do when major cities are senselessly and ruthlessly attacked - initiate peace talks with Al Qaeda?!
Though it is deplorable and has cost massive human loss - the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq are "civilized" if we compare them to other 20th century invasions - like the German invasion of Poland, or for that matter; the American invasion of Vietnam. In Iraq a vicious dictator was deposed and arrested. In both countries, real elections have occurred for the first time in many years.
Nevertheless this is a very moving and passionate book - there is much to be gained from a thorough reading of it. I now have a different perspective and will read articles on the Middle East with a more discerning eye.
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Started Reading
December 1, 2006
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Finished Reading
September 3, 2008
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Robert Fisk is hardly an unbiased chronicler of this subject. He has been accused of anti-semitism from before the days he took up the Palestinian cause and his anti-zionist journalism is the tool he uses to express this. He's not the only one. It's hard sometimes to find people who aren't biased for either side.For people who like films (not Hollywood) I would recommend Ajami which can be dl. It is a joint collaboration between Israeli-Arabs, Palestinians and Israeli Jews. It isn't about the conflict at all, but that necessarily shapes the film. The Israelis perhaps don't come out that well, but I suppose the other collaborates kept them honest.
Petra X wrote: "Robert Fisk is hardly an unbiased chronicler of this subject."Agreed. I have heard him speak (via internet) and find him tiresome. As in someone needs to challenge him. His steady anti-Americanism also fatigues me. In his book he castigates the senior George Bush for not pursuing the first Gulf war right to Baghdad, and vilifies his son for doing just that. So it becomes, Robert what exactly do you want?
But after reading Fisk my attitude to Israel did change to a more negative one - as in Israel is a military state that infringes on other lands (Palestine, Lebanon...)
I did see Ajami, but found it confusing with many many themes, characters, neighborhoods...
what do you mean by I would recommend Ajami which can be dl.??
I saw some time ago a documentary called "The Other Zionist" about a group of Israeli women who were leading protests at checkpoints to highlight human abuses. I found that inspiring.
The only issue he touches upon that wasnt 1st person accounts was the issue of the Armenian genocide. While it is evident that atrocities were committed in that area during WW1 and the break up of the Ottoman empire i wasn't convinced he had enough evidence to suggest a genocide did occur. He has accounts from people that survived that era however he could also find similar stories from people on the other end of the scale who suffered inflictions from the earlier Russian backed Armenian revolt.
Ok so maybe it wasn’t genocide but it was still ghastly. Words can often get in the way of truth.
I just read Fisk's obituary in "The Economist." When Bush announced he would invade Iraq, I wrote that it was a mistake and would not end well. Fisk could not have been more right.
It's still with us! All the repercussions from that invasion
"And why not democracy? Because the western democracies are precisely the countries that have imposed their will, and installed dictators, in the Arab lands since the end of World War I. The West, he said, thinks it has a right and a duty to do so.
"But these are not our people," Fisk said; they have a different history and culture from the West, and we have no business intervening."
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