''The Great War for Civilisation: The Conquest of the Middle East'' is a book published in 2005 by the English journalist

Robert Fisk Robert Fisk (12 July 194630 October 2020) was a writer and journalist who held British and Irish citizenship. He was critical of United States foreign policy in the Middle East, and the Israeli government's treatment of Palestinians. His stan ...

. The book is based on many of the articles Fisk wrote when he was serving as a correspondent in the Middle East for ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...

'' and ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...

''. The book revolves around several key themes regarding the history of the modern Middle East: the

Arab–Israeli conflict The Arab–Israeli conflict is an ongoing intercommunal phenomenon involving political tension, military conflicts, and other disputes between Arab countries and Israel, which escalated during the 20th century, but had mostly faded out by the ...

, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, the

Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a Coalition of the Gulf War, 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Ba'athist Iraq, ...

s, the Algerian Civil War, as well as other regional topics such as the

Armenian genocide The Armenian genocide was the systematic destruction of the Armenian people and identity in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Spearheaded by the ruling Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), it was implemented primarily through t ...

. The ''Great War for Civilisation'' is the second book Fisk has written about the Middle East. The first one, '' Pity the Nation'', (Nation Books, 2002) was about the

Lebanese Civil War The Lebanese Civil War ( ar, الحرب الأهلية اللبنانية, translit=Al-Ḥarb al-Ahliyyah al-Libnāniyyah) was a multifaceted armed conflict that took place from 1975 to 1990. It resulted in an estimated 120,000 fatalities a ...

. Fisk's book details his travels to many of the hotspots of the Middle East, such as

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...

and

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

during the

Iran–Iraq War The Iran–Iraq War was an armed conflict between Iran and Ba'athist Iraq, Iraq that lasted from September 1980 to August 1988. It began with the Iraqi invasion of Iran and lasted for almost eight years, until the acceptance of United Nations S ...

, and his numerous interviews with leaders and ordinary people. Fisk also provides much of the historical context to these conflicts. In the book, Fisk criticizes what he perceives as the hypocritical and biased

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

and

United States foreign policy in the Middle East United States foreign policy in the Middle East has its roots in the 19th-century Barbary Wars that occurred shortly after the 1776 establishment of the United States as an independent sovereign state, but became much more expansive in the a ...

, especially in regard to the Arab–Israeli conflict and the

2003 invasion of Iraq The 2003 invasion of Iraq was a United States-led invasion of the Republic of Iraq and the first stage of the Iraq War. The invasion phase began on 19 March 2003 (air) and 20 March 2003 (ground) and lasted just over one month, including 26 ...

. He contends that the leaders of both countries deliberately misled the world about their motivations for invading Iraq in 2003. The name of the book comes from a campaign medal Fisk's father was awarded for his services in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

.Fisk, Robert (2006). ''The Great War For Civilisation: The Conquest of the Middle East''. New York: Alfred Knopf, xvii. The aftermath of World War I saw the creation of most of the borders of the modern Middle East, after the

partitioning of the Ottoman Empire The partition of the Ottoman Empire (30 October 19181 November 1922) was a geopolitical event that occurred after World War I and the occupation of Constantinople by British, French and Italian troops in November 1918. The partitioning was ...

1. ''"One of Our Brothers Had a Dream..."'' is about Fisk's first interview in 1996 with the leader of al-Qaeda, Osama bin Laden, in the mountains of

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

. The title of the chapter is derived from bin Laden who explains that one of his fighters had a dream of Fisk, wearing a robe and with a beard, and who was approaching them on a horse, signifying that he was, according to bin Laden, a "true Muslim". Fisk understood this relating of the dream as an attempt by bin Laden to convert him to Islam. 2. ''They Shoot Russians'' is on the 1980 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan where Fisk chronicles much of the problems the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

faced in dealing with the Afghan '' mujahideen'' when they entered the country as well as the invasion's galvanizing effect in recruiting thousands of foreign Muslim fighters to the country and the resurgence of Islamic extremism in the country. 3. ''The Choirs of Kandahar'' is essentially a continuation of Chapter 2. 4. ''The Carpet-Weavers'' begins with the

CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...

and

MI6 The Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), commonly known as MI6 ( Military Intelligence, Section 6), is the foreign intelligence service of the United Kingdom, tasked mainly with the covert overseas collection and analysis of human intelligenc ...

's successful

1953 Iranian coup d'état The 1953 Iranian coup d'état, known in Iran as the 28 Mordad coup d'état ( fa, کودتای ۲۸ مرداد), was the overthrow of the democratically elected Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh in favor of strengthening the monarchical rule of ...

, the overthrowing of the democratically elected prime minister of

, Mohammed Mosaddeq. From there, it moves on to the events leading up to and following the

Iranian Revolution The Iranian Revolution ( fa, انقلاب ایران, Enqelâb-e Irân, ), also known as the Islamic Revolution ( fa, انقلاب اسلامی, Enqelâb-e Eslâmī), was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dyna ...

of 1979 which deposed Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. Chemical weapon1

5–8. ''The Path to War'' and the subsequent chapters ''The Whirlwind War'', ''War Against War and the Fast Train to Paradise'' and ''Drinking the Poisoned Chalice'' deal with

Baathist Iraq Ba'athist Iraq, formally the Iraqi Republic until 6 January 1992 and the Republic of Iraq thereafter, covers the national history of Iraq between 1968 and 2003 under the rule of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party. This period began with high econ ...

, the battles of the Iran-Iraq of the 1980s (including the

Tanker War The Tanker War was a protracted series of armed skirmishes between Iran and Iraq against merchant vessels in the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz from 1984 to 1988. The conflict was a part of the larger Iran–Iraq War. Background Prior to ...

), Iran's use of

human wave attacks The human wave attack, also known as the human sea attack, is an offensive infantry tactic in which an attacker conducts an unprotected frontal assault with densely concentrated infantry formations against the enemy line, intended to overrun and ...

, Saddam's use of chemical weapons against Iran, the roles of the US and other Western governments in the conflict, and the conclusion of the war. 9. ''Sentenced to Suffer Death'' is Fisk's account of his father, Bill Fisk, during his service in the

British Army during World War I The British Army during the First World War fought the largest and most costly war in its long history. Unlike the French and German Armies, the British Army was made up exclusively of volunteers—as opposed to conscripts—at the beginnin ...

and his difficult decision to refuse to take part as a member of a

firing squad Execution by firing squad, in the past sometimes called fusillading (from the French ''fusil'', rifle), is a method of capital punishment, particularly common in the military and in times of war. Some reasons for its use are that firearms are ...

ordered to execute another soldier. 10. ''The First Holocaust'' is devoted to the topic of the

. Its title is derived from the fact that the Genocide, organized by the government of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

, took place in 1915, several decades before the Jewish

Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; ...

. In it, Fisk provides the historical context of the Armenian Genocide and includes his numerous interviews with survivors of the Genocide living in

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...

and

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ' ...

. Fisk strongly criticizes the denialist stance of the

Turkish government The Government of Turkey ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Hükûmeti) is the national government of Turkey. It is governed as a unitary state under a presidential representative democracy and a constitutional republic within a pluriform multi-party ...

, the successor to the Ottoman Empire, as well as the governments of

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

and the UK for refusing to recognize the massacres and deportations as genocide. 11–13. ''Fifty Thousand Miles from Palestine'' and the subsequent chapters ''The Last Colonial War'' and ''The Girl and the Child and Love'' are devoted to the Arab-Israeli conflict from the 1980s onward. The chapters deal with the deaths of civilians on both sides, suicide bombings and the Israeli government's treatment of

Palestinian people Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; he, פָלַסְטִינִים, ) or Palestinian people ( ar, الشعب الفلسطيني, label=none, ), also referred to as Palestinian Arabs ( ar, الفلسطينيين العرب, label=non ...

. Much of these chapters also detail with media coverage of the conflict and the terms used by them to describe both sides, most notably the word "

terrorist Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...

". 14. ''Anything to Wipe Out a Devil...'' briefly focuses on the Algerian War and the use of torture and terrorism by both the French military and FLN in the 1954–1962 war. After the French pullout and Algerian independence, the book details the internal power struggles among the

secular Secularity, also the secular or secularness (from Latin ''saeculum'', "worldly" or "of a generation"), is the state of being unrelated or neutral in regards to religion. Anything that does not have an explicit reference to religion, either negativ ...

and Islamist factions and continues on with this theme into the Algerian Civil War which began in 1991. 15. ''Planet Damnation'' gives an eyewitness report of the

. Fisk was stationed in the desert with the Allied forces and makes references both to the retreat of Iraqi troops from Kuwait and their subsequent slaughter by air bombardment on the

Highway of Death The Highway of Death ( ''ṭarīq al-mawt'') is a six-lane highway between Kuwait and Iraq, officially known as Highway 80. It runs from Kuwait City to the border town of Safwan in Iraq and then on to the Iraqi city of Basra. The road was used ...

during the

Gulf War air campaign The air campaign of the Gulf War, also known as the 1991 bombing of Iraq, was an extensive aerial bombing campaign from 17 January 1991 to 23 February 1991 in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the Coalitio ...

. 16. ''Betrayal'' describes the repression of the

1991 uprisings in Iraq The 1991 Iraqi uprisings were ethnic and religious uprisings in Iraq led by Shi'ites and Kurds against Saddam Hussein. The uprisings lasted from March to April 1991 after a ceasefire following the end of the Gulf War. The mostly uncoord ...

by the Iraqi government, which had been encouraged but not supported by George H. W. Bush and the

. 17. ''The Land of Graves''. The pun in the chapter's title points at the repercussions that the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...

sanctions against Iraq The sanctions against Iraq were a comprehensive financial and trade embargo imposed by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on Iraq. They began August 6, 1990, four days after Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, stayed largely in force until May 22 ...

had on the civilian population. 18. ''The Plague'' deals with the unusual illnesses which plagued the Iraqi public after the war. 19. ''Now Thrive the Armourers...'' is an incursion into the world of the manufacturers of "all nationalities, all faiths, all follies, all causes and all crimes," of the

arms trade Arms trade may refer to: *the global markets for any product of the arms industry *Small arms trade *Illegal arms trade (arms trafficking) See also *Arms Trade Treaty *Arms control *Nuclear proliferation * Chemical weapon proliferation *Arms race ...

. 20. ''Even to Kings, He Comes...'' is an analysis of the deeds of King

Hussein of Jordan Hussein bin Talal ( ar, الحسين بن طلال, ''Al-Ḥusayn ibn Ṭalāl''; 14 November 1935 – 7 February 1999) was King of Jordan from 11 August 1952 until his death in 1999. As a member of the Hashemite dynasty, the royal family of ...

and President Hafez al-Assad of Syria. The first, a controversial ruler, whose subjects were both acclaiming him and shrieking at his coffin during his burial ceremony, is put alongside "The Lion of Damascus", whose

Hama massacre The Hama Massacre ( ar, مجزرة حماة), or Hama Uprising, occurred in February 1982 when the Syrian Arab Army and the Defense Companies, under orders of the country's president Hafez al-Assad, besieged the town of Hama for 27 days in ...

is looked into. 21. ''Why ?'' tries to find an explanation for the September 11, 2001, attacks. 22. ''The Die Is Cast'' examines the diplomatic and mass media moves which led to '' Operation Iraqi Freedom''. 23. ''Atomic Dog, Annihilator, Arsonist, Anthrax, Anguish and Agamemnon'' describes in great detail the turbulences which have accompanied the

occupation of Iraq Occupation of Iraq or Iraq occupation may refer to: * Occupation of Iraq (2003–2011) (occupation by American, British and Italian forces) * Mandatory Iraq The Kingdom of Iraq under British Administration, or Mandatory Iraq ( ar, الانت ...

and its capital, Baghdad. 24. ''Into the Wilderness'' is the last chapter of the book. It gives an idea of the challenges the

Coalition Provisional Authority ) , capital = Baghdad , largest_city = capital , common_languages = ArabicKurdish English (''de facto'') , government_type = Transitional government , legislature = Iraqi Governing Council , title_leader = Administrator , leader1 = Jay ...

has faced in Iraq, and reports on the assassination of the Lebanese Prime-Minister

Rafiq Hariri Rafic Bahaa El Deen Al Hariri ( ar, رفيق بهاء الدين الحريري; 1 November 1944 – 14 February 2005) was a Lebanese business tycoon and politician who served as the Prime Minister of Lebanon from 1992 to 1998 and again from ...

, witnessed by Fisk. The book ends, as it has begun, in the "tiny village of

Louvencourt Louvencourt (; pcd, Louvincourt) is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. Vera Brittain's fiancée Roland Leighton is buried in the Louvencourt commonwealth war cemetery Geography Louvencourt is situated nor ...

, on the Somme," where Robert Fisk's father fought. This is not only meant as a homage to Bill Fisk, but is also an implicit reminder of one of the leitmotifs of the book: the volatile situation in the Middle East is a consequence of the political arrangements concluded in the aftermath of the First World War. The work has a ''Chronology of the Middle East'', starting with the birth of the Prophet Mohammed and ending in 2005, the year of the book's British release, with the words: " UN Security Council Resolution 242 of 1968 – calling for Israel's withdrawal from occupied land – remains unfulfilled."

Reviews

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' published a review of the book by retired British Ambassador

Oliver Miles Richard Oliver Miles CMG (6 March 1936 - 10 November 2019) was a British Ambassador and former chairman of the international business development company MEC International. Background Oliver Miles was educated at Encinal jr sr high school and ...

, which claimed it contained mistakes such as regarding the Ba'ath party and Iraq's revolutions, the Balfour declaration, locations of US bases, claiming the Hijazi

Hashemites The Hashemites ( ar, الهاشميون, al-Hāshimīyūn), also House of Hashim, are the royal family of Jordan, which they have ruled since 1921, and were the royal family of the kingdoms of Hejaz (1916–1925), Syria (1920), and Iraq (1921� ...

were Gulf people, wrongly assigning an

Umayyad The Umayyad Caliphate (661–750 CE; , ; ar, ٱلْخِلَافَة ٱلْأُمَوِيَّة, al-Khilāfah al-ʾUmawīyah) was the second of the four major caliphates established after the death of Muhammad. The caliphate was ruled by the ...

character to Baghdad, the century of Ali ibn Abi Talib's death, and mistakes in the meaning of Arabic,

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

, Russian, and French words and the birthplace of Jesus.

Footnotes

References

* Fisk, Robert (2007): ''The Great War for Civilisation: The Conquest of the Middle East'', Vintage, , , 1136 pages.

External links

An interview of Robert Fisk
by Justin Podur on ''

ZNet Z Communications is a left-wing activist-oriented media group founded in 1986 by Michael Albert and Lydia Sargent.Max Elbaum''Revolution in the Air: Sixties Radicals Turn to Lenin, Mao and Che'' London, England, UK; New York, New York, US: Vers ...

'' about the book, December 7, 2005 {{DEFAULTSORT:Great War For Civilisation Books about the Middle East Books about the Arab–Israeli conflict 2005 non-fiction books Fourth Estate books

Contents

Reviews

Footnotes

References

External links