The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Middle East (The Politically Incorrect Guides)

Why most of what you think you know about the Middle East is wrong The Middle East: a region that's almost never off the front pages, yet one most Americans know little about. The mainstream media and Ivy League academics only make matters worse by casting everything in the usual politically correct mold: Arab terrorists are just desperate freedom fighters, and the region's one free democracy--Israel--is the oppressor, not least because of its alliance with America. And if Islamic extremism is a problem, the establishment tells us, it's only because it's rooted in that source of all evils: religion. A different strain of political correctness has seeped into some minds on the right--most notably the Bush administration, which, so ready to buy into the egalitarian myths we are all taught, believed that Western-style democracy could flourish anywhere. Now, in The Politically Incorrect Guide(tm) to the Middle East, veteran Middle East correspondent Martin Sieff puts the lie to all these myths and clichés, giving you everything you need to know about the region to understand its past, its present, and its possible future. In The Politically Incorrect Guide(tm) to the Middle East, you'll learn: \* How, for three decades, the British supported parliamentary democracy throughout the Middle East, but it didn't work \* Why Britain's post-World War I Middle East policy was a comedy of errors and incompetence that soon escalated into tragedy \* Where America went wrong in Iraq: how U.S. policymakers vastly underestimated the intransigent, unsophisticated, and anti-Western nature of its competing communities \* How Saudi Arabia's security forces defeated al Qaeda--and why you never heard about it \* Why we'll miss the Arab dictators when they're gone \* How the Muslim nations of the Middle East took an irrevocable turn toward radical Islam not in the tenth century or after the fall of Baghdad to the Mongols in the thirteenth century--but in 1979 \* How the Arab states openly declared their determination to prevent a Jewish state from being born in 1947--twenty years before the West Bank and Gaza were first occupied The Politically Incorrect Guide(tm) to the Middle East is a bold first step toward facing the hard truths necessary for peace. Cover Page The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Middle East Title Page Dedication Introduction Chapter 1 - BRING BACK THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE The Middle East a century ago Ottomans exit, instability and strife enter The secrets of Ottoman success World War I could have skipped the Middle East Gallipoli: Underestimating the Turks Europe’s “sick man” has some teeth Chapter 2 - THE ARAB-ISRAELI CONFLICT The creation of Israel: An anti-Muslim U.S. conspiracy? How it all began The rise of Haj Amin al-Husseini Churchill in Cairo: 1921 Emir Abdullah of Transjordan Herbert Dowbiggin: Unlikely prophet How British imperialist weakness sparked the Arab-Israeli conflict The Hebrew Bible: A book of war The true story of Israel’s creation Chapter 3 - THE MESS IN MESOPOTAMIA Just like today: A bad beginning Democracy in Iraq: 1925–1958 A Jewish base for the Allies Where America went wrong After Saddam: “Better Tiberius” Banking on a bank swindler Birth of the Iraqi insurrection The insurgents: Not just a few troublemakers Bombing the Golden Mosque: The point of no return It isn’t a civil war; it’s a splinter war Why the surge couldn’t tame Baghdad Chapter 4 - THE TRUTH ABOUT ISLAM The wisdom of Prince Turki The cycles of Arab history The Middle East gets religion: 1977–1980 Chapter 5 - IRAN The Persian Empire: When Iran was good Clash of empires: U.S. vs. Britain Liberal busybodies spark the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Khomeini: The fruit of American meddling Carter and the hostage crisis Post-revolution Iran Moderation (relatively speaking) in Iran Democracy’s bitter gift: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Iran on borrowed time Chapter 6 - THE ISRAELI-ARAB WARS 1947–1973 Death almost at birth The tide turns Who’s a Palestinian? The real Yasser Arafat Egypt’s fight to destroy Israel The Soviet Union vs. Israel The miraculous victory Results of the Six-Day War Nixon: Israel’s best friend 1973: The Israelis mess up big Results of the 1973 war Chapter 7 - THE SAUDIS ARE PART OF THE SOLUTION, NOT THE PROBLEM The enemy of my enemy is my friend Michael Moore’s mania: The Saudis were behind September 11 Why separation of mosque and state is folly How to fight Muslim terrorists: Build walls and monitor the mosques The Saudis and Arafat: From appeasement to realism Understanding the Saudis Saudi Arabia’s three threats Chapter 8 - MIDDLE EAST WARS AND PEACE 1975–2007 Arabs can fight The Ba’ath Party’s socialist roots Arab tyrants: Assad and Saddam Ford’s Middle East successes Yitzhak Rabin: The dove who armed Israel Did Jimmy Carter really bring peace to the Middle East? Clinton: Carter all over again Chapter 9 - THE HISTORY OF SEPTEMBER 11 Clinton’s team missed the al Qaeda threat Bush drops the ball on al Qaeda too Heroes and lessons The Saudis weren’t complicit in the attacks Why did it happen? Chapter 10 - PEACE IN THE MIDDLE EAST Hope at the end of the millennium They are here to stay Arab democracy = extremist rule Why solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict won’t solve the problems The American pipe dream: A world without oil Good fences make good neighbors The Saudi solution A safer Middle East Acknowledgements INDEX Copyright Page The Middle East is almost never off the front pages, yet most Americans know little about the region. Why? The mainstream media and Ivy League academics, instead of helping, only make matters worse by casting everything in the usual politically correct mold: Arab terrorists are just desperate freedom fighters, and the region's one free democracy -- Israel -- is the oppressor, not least because of its alliance with America. And if Islamic extremism is a problem, the establishment tells us, it's only because it's rooted in that source of all evils: religion. A different strain of political correctness has seeped into some minds on the right -- most notably the Bush administration, which, so ready to buy into the egalitarian myths we are all taught, believed that Western-style democracy could flourish anywhere. Now, in The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Middle East, veteran Middle East correspondent Martin Sieff puts the lie to all these myths and clichés, giving you everything you need to know about the region to understand its past, its present, and its possible future. Examines the Middle East from the decline of the Ottoman Empire to the present, discussing such topics as the history of radical Islam, the conflicts between the Arabs and Israelis, and political movements in Iran, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia