The Great War for Civilisation: The Conquest of the Middle East

Before the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, most Americans, indeed most people living outside of the region that sits between the border of western China and Morocco's coastline were not interested about bespeckled patch of deserts, mountains, valleys, gorges that had been plagued with violence since time immemorial. However, as the United States' wild forays into Afghanistan in 2001 and Iraq in 2003 came into being, much of that amnesia and blithe disregard dissipated. With that being said, journalist Robert Fisk of the UK newspaper, the Independent, has written an enormous tome that chronicles the Middle East's history and its entanglement with the great "civilised countries" of the West. While many authors have painted the region with a thick brush that simply labels the entire Middle East as a terrorist haven, Fisk is much more sensible to get past the antiquated cliches and banal platitudes that often hamper the ability for many of us to have a clear understanding about a region many of us are quite, emotionally, indifferent to. Fisk's book begins with his trip to Afghanistan in 1996. After being led from checkpoint to checkpoint, Fisk is presented to none other than Osama bin Laden himself. He holds a cordial interview with him while bin Laden goes on about his latest criticism of the West as Fisk faithfully takes note of his posture, tone, and least to say, his words; the most chilling of which makes one's hair rise: "One of our brothers had a dream..." Fisk's book is essentially about his travels along the Middle Eastern countries and occasionally taps open the history book. His book is revealing and written with excellence and empathy. As he traveled to Afghanistan to cover the war, with the Soviets in 1979, not 2001, he captures the brutality of the Afghan rebels who mercilessly slaughter Soviet teachers, hanging them from telephone wires. Yet it was not all conquest and satellite states for the Soviet Union as Fisk notes, "a modern educational system in which girls as well as boys would go to school, at which young women did not have to wear the veil, in which science and literature would be taught alongside Islam...."It had been trying to create a secular, equal society in the villages around Jalalabad" (page 58). The next several chapters spans and chronographs the Iranian revolution and its subsequent struggles in fending off the invasion by Saddam Hussein's Iraq, which was unconditionally supported by the West. Fisk documents the brutal torture methods employed by the United States' second greatest ally in the Middle East on its domestic population and how the US turned a blind eye against the atrocities. Of course, the author has no kind words to spare for the West's adored "Butcher of Baghdad", constantly and rightly so, castigating him and reminding us of his victims. The Islamic "tribunals" set up by Iran are also extensively mentioned with the US, bizarrely enough, condemning Iran. Yet the United States has no words of regret when it came to downing an Iranian passenger jet during the Iran-Iraq war despite the fact evidence proved an otherwise intentional attack. Perhaps Fisk's most emotionally driven part of the book is Chapter 10, entitled "The First Holocaust", known much better as the Armenian Genocide. Being an Armenian myself I was surprised to find an entire chapter solely devoted to the near elimination of the Armenian people in 1915, when the Ottoman Turkish government sought to cleanse its minority problem by systematic rape, mass murder, and deportations through the scorching deserts of Syria. Fisk's fervent arguments are seen most pronounced in this chapter as he lambastes the world media which often refers to the event with simple euphemisms: "tragedy", "massacres", and "deportations". He documents how even many Jewish leaders, notably Shimon Peres, refuse to acknowledge the plight of the Armenians as a Genocide. He condemns the present day Turkish government for giving its ridiculous excuses and for denying its own past and goes further to condemn those countries who refuses to do it because of their close relations with the NATO member. Fisk asks us what would happen if world leaders would similarly use those terms to describe the Jewish Holocaust and refer it to a disputed event...of course we all know what would happen if they did. Of course no Middle Eastern book can be written without mentioning the Palestine-Israel conflict. Three chapters are devoted and while Fisk acknowledges the brutality of the Palestinian suicide bombers he turns and asks why Israel's actions often go uncritcized by the media and by world leaders. He does an exceptional job in not only this section but the entire book by naming for us the once nameless, the victims who weren't famous partisan leaders or known diplomats but those who were simply at the wrong place at the wrong time. By doing this, he allows us to at least place some sympathy so that those who perished in a cell in Iraq's torture pens do not remain a statistic; only to be cited endlessly twenty years later as a rational for war. He doesn't allow us to forget Israel's indiscrimante military raids which lead to the deaths of thousands and notes the number of UN resolutions it has violated, including building illegal settlements across the West Bank and Gaza. He recognizes the violence committed by the Palestinians but also forces us to take a look and scrutinize Israel's questionable ethics in dealing with the Palestinians. Fisk's book also contains no praise for the George W. Bush administration, especially its botched invasions of not only Iraq but also Afghanistan. He records the US's reckless trampling of Iraq against its former ally, Saddam and the subsequent looting that took place after Saddam fell as the administration obliviously pointed to it as an example of new found liberty. His work chronicles the Middle East from the 20th century and its frequent interventions by the French, British, and Americans whom constantly change the region's political landscape each time it reconfigures itself to be incongruent with their interests. It is poigant, shocking at times, and he does not spare us from the bloody carnage that has been wrought upon the area for decades and which will most probably continue to do as years pass by as we idlely watch it change all over again.

There are a number of very hostile reviews of Robert Fisk's book. There is reason enough for this: the truth hurts. In an age where we are used to "embedded reporters" and talk-head pundits who simply re-iterate the religion as spewed by the disinformation centers of the world (particularly every government capitol), we are used to having people simply feed us with articles and info that is either selective or simply a lie. Our media functions as simply a tool of the government, coming at hand to believe anything an "official" has to say. It is especially noted when most of what our media reports comes from the generals and politicians who are interested in keeping us quiet and ignorant. For more on this, one can look into Noam Chomsky's "Manufacturing Consent" (a book written before the rise of Fox News, which has made media even worse). All of this has resulted in a populous all to ready to believe that their nation is "special" or "holy"; a people who truly perceive their nation as "doing what is good". When these "truths" are shown for what they really are, we become angry. Case in point, when we discuss Israel the media is ready to almost always show us the horrors of suicide bombers; yet, when if somebody should point out a missile strike against Gaza or the West Bank that occurs days before the suicide bomb, then you are "biased". In our media, as Chomsky has shown, there are "worthy" and "unworthy" victims. The "unworthy" can die by the thousands without a single shout being made, the "worthy" bring about intense outrage from the very moment a single death is reported. Fisk, like all good journalists (however many left), does not accept this. He does not accept the notion that an Israeli life, or an American life, or a European life is worth any more or less than a Palestinian, Iraqi or Iranian. He does not accept the notion that there are "worthy" and "unworthy". All death is horrific, whether it is a little Israeli victim of a suicide bomber in Jerusalem or a Palestinian boy in Gaza. As he has argued, war is filled with perpetrators and victims. The monumental book that Fisk has written will get accolades or hate based on this very fact: Fisk will point out where the West errs, where it is criminal and murderous -- and it errs oh so often. What makes this book so fantastic is that it is not simply another study of the Middle East history. Fisk does not give us an aerial view of the Middle East in the all too typical apathetic, academic style. He brings Middle East history to life by literally having lived it. He has been present in most of the events. He is in Afghanistan watching the unraveling of an empire and the beginning of international "Jihad" (sponsored by CIA); he was there to witness the effects of chemical attacks on Iranian youths during the Iran-Iraq war (chemical weapons given to the Iraqis by the Americans and Germans); Fisk is present in Lebanon and could describe vividly the end result of the infamous Sabra and Shatila massacre (overseen by the Israelis, see the film "Waltz with Bashir"); he held an Israeli victim of a suicide bomber in his own hands. Fisk has seen as much in one life time as most could bare to handle in 10. The end result is that we see a great humanization of the victims. We see the vast array of people in Fisk's story not as merely numbers or ethnicity, but as human beings. At the same time, the horrors become all the more evident. More than once I had to put the book down to collect myself before reading further. Whether it was the brutality of the Baathist regime in Iraq (then supported by America) or the death and slaughter brought about by the endless number of wars, Fisk does not spare any detail. He recounts it all or gives first-hand accounts of those who witnessed it. This is an important contribution as much as the detail and knowledge of the Holocaust is important if we are to understand the full gravity of what is going on. The very fact that a single death could be as brutal or savage as described by Fisk made me not want to ever pick up a gun again. It is important that Westerners, particularly us Americans, read this book. Fisk brilliantly points out where our errors have been and how so many of the monsters that we face today are creatures of our own making. It is important that we understand the end results of so many years of occupation and brutality. If only so that we in the future can correct it. This is a brilliant book, a sober and haunting read. I recommend it for anyone wishing to learn about the Muslim world!

I've looked over many other reviews and mostly agree with them, both the positives and negatives of this book. Up front, I want to say that this is a necessary read to ever have a broad understanding of so many Middle East situations including Israel, Palestine, Iran, Afghanistan, and, of course, Iraq. It also helps considerably in understanding WHY there is "terrorism". Probably the toughest part of reading the book is when Fisk writes about the many, many innocent people who have been killed or seriously injured over the decades in the Middle East both from war and from limiting the flow of goods into needy countries.. The book points out something we almost never feel and understand in depth It tells us the extent of so-called collateral damage when bombs are dropped from planes and helicopters in the name of getting rid of a single significant leader. It points out how often children are deprived of the nutrition they need as they grow up. It tells of the tragedy of massive bombing of troops and cities. It raises in my mind the cost of war to human beings. The book makes one consider the many wars and incidents and the relationship of these to "terrorism". It really takes to task the foreign policy of western governments (USA, UK, especially). It makes me wonder if the people making decisions have any understanding at all of the history of the Middle East..... the things that so many humans have been through, the resentment of western powers interfering in the Middle East in so many ways. Lastly, as I finished reading this book (and it is a long book but an important read), I asked myself what I have learned. Rather than repeat things I have just written, I will summarize by saying that WAR is not the solution to anything. War is in many ways the easy way out of a situation. It is much easier to start bombing and shooting at perceived enemies than to try to understand the issues on both sides, to talk about them, to respectfully seek alternatives to war. How many of us have ever really asked "Why the "terrorists" are doing what they do. How have they arrived at this point. How much have we contributed to their current position. " And I realize how easy it was for the USA to go to war with Iraq making anyone who might question things a "terrorist sympathizer". All of us need to understand as much as possible so that our votes and voices can be heard advocating solutions other than killing human beings.

This book was highly recommended to me as the one book most likely to shed light on what's really going on in the Middle East, and it delivers: I don't think you'll find a volume (and it IS that) with more gory detail (literally) on the power dynamics, the whys and wherefores and who's-doing-what-to-whoms, in that part of the world. It's worth noting that Mr. Fisk is as much of a historian as a correspondent here, and he does an excellent job at both. In fact, he is too good in some ways; he feels too much and shares too much detail. I don't think I have ever read a more effective "witness" to history, but often the reader feels as if he's listening to unedited audio tapes of reporting and coverage. There seems to be no editing, no effort to summarize, and he's all over the place topically, hopping from one subject to the next with dizzying regularity. In a way, I think Fisk does this intentionally. It's clear that he feels a tremendous sense of injustice and indignation at how the press have oversimplified the situation in the region for decades, editing for the sake of clarity when things just aren't that clear. He refuses to do that here, spilling his guts all over the place, really, refusing to "dumb it down" for anyone or anybody. The effect is edifying, but really pretty difficult to get through and an effective soporific; the book can be a great substitute for Lunesta if your prescription's run out. You really have to buckle in to get through all 1000 pages, printed as they are in rather small type. The main problem here, sadly, is that Fisk has the emotional intelligence of an adolescent boy. His petulant rage over the incalculable wrongs that litter the history and landscape of the region (which are absolutely horrifying) prevent him from presenting his case in a more cogent way. That said, it IS worth reading, as Fisk is clearly an intellectually brilliant man and understands the players involved and the way the pieces of the puzzle fit together as well as anyone alive. If you want to understand the Middle East- as any Westerner alive today should be required to- this is (somewhat unfortunately) your book.

The masterpiece now being reviewed, an epic narration of facts happened in the Middle East in the last forty ears - and their historical and political backgrounds - puts Fisk among the group of journalists not committed with the establishment. As time goes by, it is becoming much more difficult to find people like that. Hence, the importance of T.G.W.F.C.. Fisk has left for mankind another view of those facts. The view of the people - himself included - being bombed; the view of desperate medical doctors who have nothing but their hands and will, heart and soul, to cure and treat; the view of children being deprived of water, food, medicines, and, probably worst of all, of their childhood. Fisk has a power few do: he has one eye on the microscope, the other on the telescope. While telling the stories of the "unknown", he masterfully presents a context, refusing to label people the way the mainstream press do; that would be an easy, cheap, not to say misleading, job. Investigative journalism is what he's all about. T.G.W.F.C. must horrify superpowers' governments (and their branches on the Middle East) as it demonstrates the net of deceitfulness and lies that guides the actions of those superpowers towards that region. Fisk witnessed every single war that stroke the Middle East since the last quarter of the twentieth century: from the Lebanese Civil War, in 1976, until the invasion of Iraq. In Afghanistan, he was there when the Soviets invaded it; twenty years later, he miraculously survived a beating and murder attempt by a crowd of Afghan refugees, refugees from the U.S. disproportionately bloody revenge - which Fisk also covered. He has interviewed Osama Bin Laden, Yasser Arafat, Mikhail Kalashnikov, Israeli Prime-Ministers, Kings... All of those stories and their framework, above all, capture the reader's attention. On one moment, it feels like reading a history book; right away, it feels like political science; then, like a newspaper article... And there it goes. I wouldn't go as far to say one must read Fisk's T.G.W.F.C. so as to "know" about the Middle East. But it certainly brings new elements to the table to do so.

The Great War for Civilization should be mandatory for anyone in Foreign Affairs, and I would go beyond, for anyone seeking an understanding of the Middle East and the world. Fisk's perception and interpretation of events is built on his personal experience living and covering the Middle East as a reporter for almost three decades (now almost four, but the book stops in 2006). Each chapter of the book reveals one or many "surprising" facts. "Surprising" to me because I didn't know about it, I didn't hear about it or I didn't explore it enough before, in large part because of my ignorance, but also because our traditional media outlets are incredibly deficient or subscribed to a particular view of the world. Fisk talks about the terrible consequences of the First World War, the history of aggression to the Afghan people by Brits, Russians and Americans, the conflict between the urban and rural sides of Afghanistan, the Western-sponsored coup d'etat that overthrew the only Iranian President ever elected in a fair democratic process, the world support to the invader and user of chemical weapons in the Iran-Iraq war, the gruesome history of the Algerian civil war, the conversations between the Nazis and the Palestinians during World War II, the massacres at the Palestinian refugee camps of Sabra and Chatila in the Lebanon, the contamination of water and soil and increased cancer rates in Iraq due to depleted uranium, just to name a few terrible facts. This is definitively not a "feel good" book, but rather a raw description of the events in an area of the world ravaged by war and vengeance. You will feel sad. You will feel frustrated. You will feel anger, especially at the intervention of the foreign powers in the region (UK, France, US, Russia, even Germany and Italy). But suddenly, you will realize that the marathon effort of going through more than 1,300 pages is one of your best investments of time. Very highly recommended.

This is a really good book covering a broad range of facts in the Arab world and beyond for the past 40-50 years. It's main drawback is that it's quite long mostly due to extended testimonials and anecdotal stories which are sometimes a bit too much.

Anybody interested in what’s happening in the Middle East should read this book, it presents a fascinating insight into Middle Eastern history. Totally devoid of fear Robert Fisk spent 30 years living amongst people whose lives have been destroyed by war he also spoke to those who caused it. The book chronicles and recounts accounts of important historical events. Whilst reading the book I felt angry and at other times my eyes welled up. People’s lives were ripped apart by cruel self-serving dictators, megalomaniacs, half-wit imbeciles and murderous thugs whose fanatical displays of religious fanaticism and political ideology affected millions. There were very strict standards and little tolerance for contrary ideas or opinions and little or no regard for human life. The western world is incapable of making reparation for war crimes against humanity and are not much better than the group I listed above. The countries that declare war lack all conviction to follow-through for a variety of reasons and justifications not to support the rebuilding of the region delusional in their thinking that Sunnis and the Shiites will work in harmony. Full of hate for each other which is deep rooted in their DNA the split goes back to events in the 7th century: After Mohammed's death in 632. The only way to deal with the legacy of war is to keep looking forward. I see no hope for the Middle East until education is compulsory for all children, free from religious bondage, dictators removed without decent into chaos, and from that point forward it will take 100 years or more for peace to come to the region. “There is only one way in which one can endure man's inhumanity to man and that is to try, in one's own life, to exemplify man's humanity to man.” ' Alan Paton