Inside Syria: The Backstory of Their Civil War and What the World Can Expect Read Online Free Page B
Author: Noam Chomsky, Reese Erlich
Tags: History, Politics & Social Sciences, Non-Fiction, middle east, Middle Eastern, Politics & Government, Specific Topics, International & World Politics, National & International Security, syria, Relations
the United States, Europe, and Asia, eventually playing to an estimated four million people. Lawrence went to see the performances several times in London, professing not to like them. But Lawrence posed for additional Thomas photos dressed in Arab garb. Clearly, Lawrence's career benefited from the publicity. Thomas later said of Lawrence, âHe had a genius for backing into the limelight.â 7
Thomas earned millions from his performances and launched his career. He went on to become a famous travel writer and radio newscaster. He was an early pioneer in newsreels and TV. And he continued his pattern of carrying out the needs of big business. During World War I he took funding from the Armour company for his Mideast travels. Later in life he syndicated radio broadcasts to NBC and CBS but collected his salary from the show's sponsor, oil giant Sunoco. In 1947, Thomas cofounded what would become Capital Cities Broadcasting. Although he had left Capital Cities years before, that company later bought ABC in 1980 and grew to be one of the biggest media conglomerates in the world. Thomas died one year later in 1981.
At the end of Lawrence of Arabia , Peter O'Toole leaves Damascus despondent and disillusioned with the failures of the Arab revolt. In real life, he did depart Damascus for London, but far from being alienated, he immediately plunged into imperialist politics. Lawrence met with Prime Minister David Lloyd George and members of the cabinet. He promised that his wartime ally Faisal bin Hussein, and other Hashemite allies, would support the British if French power was reduced or eliminated altogether from the Middle East. Lawrence attended theParis Peace Conference, working as an undersecretary for Winston Churchill, who was then the secretary of war.
The Paris Peace Conference opened January 18, 1919, and closed one year later. It resulted in the Treaty of Versailles, which was most famous for imposing harsh sanctions on Germany to cover the costs of the Allied war effort. But Paris was also abuzz with discussions of how to carve up the old Ottoman Empireâan argument that was not fully resolved for another four years. Britain and France competed fiercely to set up new colonies and spheres of influence. Each had its allies among the Arabs and Zionist leaders.
Since the end of the war, Emir Faisal had headed the Arab Kingdom of Hedjaz, encompassing much of the former Ottoman Arab territories. Lawrence translated as Faisal gave a famous speech at the peace conference, calling for Arab independence. Faisal received strong verbal backing from Britain and the United States, who supported his claims to Syria and Lebanon. But Faisal's views angered the French, who coveted that region for themselves.
Since the British issued the Balfour Declaration supporting a Jewish presence in Palestine, Zionist leaders had become important new players in the Middle East. At the behest of the British government, Lawrence brought Faisal from Paris to London just before the opening of the peace conference. The British brokered a secret meeting with Zionist leader Chaim Weizmann.
Faisal was receiving £150,000 a month from the British. 8 The Zionists were sending Jewish settlers to Palestine. The British hoped to use both sides to keep populist and nationalist Arabs in check.
On January 3, 1919, Faisal and Weizmann agreed on a border that would create Jewish and Arab countries. They agreed to establish a Zionist-controlled state in Palestine, leaving the rest to the Hashemite monarchs. The Zionists were to get land and peace. The monarchs got a vastly larger territory and promises of Zionist help with economic development. 9
The Zionist movement sometimes points to this agreement as an indication of early Arab acceptance of a Jewish state. But Faisalattached a handwritten addendum that made clear that the deal would go through only if the British followed up on their wartime promises of an independent Arab state. The addendum
Thomas earned millions from his performances and launched his career. He went on to become a famous travel writer and radio newscaster. He was an early pioneer in newsreels and TV. And he continued his pattern of carrying out the needs of big business. During World War I he took funding from the Armour company for his Mideast travels. Later in life he syndicated radio broadcasts to NBC and CBS but collected his salary from the show's sponsor, oil giant Sunoco. In 1947, Thomas cofounded what would become Capital Cities Broadcasting. Although he had left Capital Cities years before, that company later bought ABC in 1980 and grew to be one of the biggest media conglomerates in the world. Thomas died one year later in 1981.
At the end of Lawrence of Arabia , Peter O'Toole leaves Damascus despondent and disillusioned with the failures of the Arab revolt. In real life, he did depart Damascus for London, but far from being alienated, he immediately plunged into imperialist politics. Lawrence met with Prime Minister David Lloyd George and members of the cabinet. He promised that his wartime ally Faisal bin Hussein, and other Hashemite allies, would support the British if French power was reduced or eliminated altogether from the Middle East. Lawrence attended theParis Peace Conference, working as an undersecretary for Winston Churchill, who was then the secretary of war.
The Paris Peace Conference opened January 18, 1919, and closed one year later. It resulted in the Treaty of Versailles, which was most famous for imposing harsh sanctions on Germany to cover the costs of the Allied war effort. But Paris was also abuzz with discussions of how to carve up the old Ottoman Empireâan argument that was not fully resolved for another four years. Britain and France competed fiercely to set up new colonies and spheres of influence. Each had its allies among the Arabs and Zionist leaders.
Since the end of the war, Emir Faisal had headed the Arab Kingdom of Hedjaz, encompassing much of the former Ottoman Arab territories. Lawrence translated as Faisal gave a famous speech at the peace conference, calling for Arab independence. Faisal received strong verbal backing from Britain and the United States, who supported his claims to Syria and Lebanon. But Faisal's views angered the French, who coveted that region for themselves.
Since the British issued the Balfour Declaration supporting a Jewish presence in Palestine, Zionist leaders had become important new players in the Middle East. At the behest of the British government, Lawrence brought Faisal from Paris to London just before the opening of the peace conference. The British brokered a secret meeting with Zionist leader Chaim Weizmann.
Faisal was receiving £150,000 a month from the British. 8 The Zionists were sending Jewish settlers to Palestine. The British hoped to use both sides to keep populist and nationalist Arabs in check.
On January 3, 1919, Faisal and Weizmann agreed on a border that would create Jewish and Arab countries. They agreed to establish a Zionist-controlled state in Palestine, leaving the rest to the Hashemite monarchs. The Zionists were to get land and peace. The monarchs got a vastly larger territory and promises of Zionist help with economic development. 9
The Zionist movement sometimes points to this agreement as an indication of early Arab acceptance of a Jewish state. But Faisalattached a handwritten addendum that made clear that the deal would go through only if the British followed up on their wartime promises of an independent Arab state. The addendum
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