Middle East Focus: The Great Arab Revolt of 2011: about T.E. Lawrence, Sykes-Picot, Tiramisu, and Apple Pie……….

Arabia Deserta

The Great Arab Revolt of 2011: about T.E. Lawrence, Sykes-Picot, Tiramisu, and Apple Pie……….

Rattlesnake Ridge

BFF

“RAF ready for further action over Tripoli. In the lead up to Free Libya Forces entering Tripoli this weekend the RAF continued to strike at key Colonel Gaddafi targets within the city as part of NATO's Operation UNIFIED PROTECTOR. On Sunday morning RAF Tornado and Typhoon aircraft mounted a precision strike before dawn on the military intelligence operations room in Tripoli, close to the Baroni intelligence facility which the RAF had successfully bombed……………”

If I had lived around the period 1917-1918, anywhere between Hijaz, Palestine, (Greater) Syria, or Iraq, I would say, nay I would scream “déjà vu all over again”. The Arab world, again the perennial sick man of the world, is being “saved” again, “liberated” this time from its own worst. Well, only select parts of it are being “saved” and liberated, and mainly from Arab rulers and dynasties rather than from Ottoman Turks.
Last time around, almost a century ago, the Arabs were saved for the benefit of the British and French empires (Sykes-Picot, Percy Cox, Gertrude Bell, Churchill, and all that).
This time around the Arabs (only select some of them) are being saved for any of the following: human rights, democracy, secularism, moderate Islamism, ‘cheap’ oil, fat weapons contracts, fat reconstruction contracts, globalism, WTO free trade, IMF structural economic reform, military bases, Middle East peace. I should also add freedom, free speech, freedom of worship and, best of all, motherhood. Sorry, no apple pie yet (actually apple pie is my favorite, much more wholesome than the decadent-tasting European Tiramisu or Chocolate Soufflé).
Cheers
mhg

m.h.ghuloum@gmail.com