I just finished reading James Barr's excellent account of Britain's Mideast policy during WWI(*) and it struck me how similar it's been to that of today's Zionists. Britain encouraged and fomented the so-called Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire and promised the Arabs a nation of their own (in the Hijjaz, Mesopotamia, Palestine, etc) while secretly intriguing with the French (Sykes-Picot) and the Zionists (Balfour, Chaim Weizmann) to "scale down" Arab claims once the war (against Germany, Austria-Hungary and Turkey) was over.... Likewise, today's Zionists are attempting to win over the Arabs and pit them against the new bugbear, namely, Iran --the modern successor to the late Ottoman hegemon. Will the same trick work twice?
(*) Setting the Desert on Fire: T.E. Lawrence and Britain's Secret War in Arabia, 1916-18 (Hardcover)
by James Barr
amazon.co.uk
Nov. 15, 2006 2:41 | Updated Nov. 15, 2006
PM asks for Arab unity against Iran
By AMIR MIZROCH
LOS ANGELES
In a speech at the UJC General Assembly Tuesday night Prime Minister Ehud Olmert called on moderate Arab states to create a coalition to tackle the Iranian threat.
"A coalition of Moderate Arab countries can and must unite their common interest in preventing Iran from undermining stability in the Middle East," Olmert said. "This coalition must struggle against the dangers of radical Islam that manipulate the very source of Islam itself."
The call came after Olmert reiterated Israel's intention to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.
"We have reached the pivotal moment of truth regarding Iran," the prime minister said. "It would be an unbearable sin to future generations to allow Iran to obtain nuclear weapons."
The prime minister also addressed last summer's war in Lebanon, placing the blame for the conflict squarely on Hizbullah leader Hasan Nasrallah and the Iranians.
"This was Hezbollah's war. This was Iran's war. Not Lebanon's war. And not Israel's war," he said.
Declaring the war a definitive Israeli victory, Olmert suggested that even the Hizbullah leadership agreed with his assessment.
"It is enough merely to quote Hizbullah's leader who said he would not have initiated the abductions had he known Israel would react with even one percent of the force we did," the prime minister said.
Turning to the topic of the Palestinians, Olmert insisted that no peace would come so long as Hamas maintained its militant stance towards Israel.
"Israel cannot accept a government led by an organization that denies our existence, actively pushes to destroy our society through unending terrorist attacks or refuses to even recognize former agreements signed upon by Israelis and Palestinians," he said.
jpost.com |
