Here follows a brief summary of this remarkable study exploring the
predominant role Europeans exerted in 1914-1922 to create the
modern Middle East:

A PEACE TO END ALL PEACE, David Fromkin, Avon, New York, 1989

"Introduction" (pp. 15-20): Newly released archives allowed this ten
year research project to look deeper into the decisions made by
Westerners in 1914-1922 so heavily responsible for today's Middle
East.

1. "The Last Days of Old Europe" (pp. 23-25): European policy makers
assumed they would continue to dominate the Middle East, a region of no
great concern to them.

2. "The Legacy of the Great Game in Asia" (pp. 26-32): England had
supported the Ottoman and Persian Empires in "The Great Game" opposing
imperial Russian expansion. England, France, Germany and Italy had
growing economic interests in the region. When Gladstone withdrew
British support for the Ottomans, Istanbul turned to Germany. In 1907,
Russia agreed to British control of Afghanistan and the division of
Persia into three zones (British, neutral, Russian).

3. "The Middle East Before the War" (pp. 33-44): The Ottomans were
modernizing. Religion continued to exert an influence considered
anachronistic by Westerners. Europeans in Istanbul lived in enclaves
apart from Turkish reality. The exceptional Wyndham Deedes, prominent
Young Turk policeman and fluent Turkish speaker, was ignored by British
diplomats so unaware of Ottoman politics they didn't know one person
they badmouthed led the pro British faction.

4. "The Young Turks Urgently Seek an Ally" (pp. 45-50): Dominated by
European powers whose citizens abode above Ottoman law, the Empire's New
Turk leaders sought a European patron as protection from others. Germany
turned them down.

5. "Winston Churchill on the Eve of the War" (pp. 51-53): Ruthlessly
ambitious, this reckless, mercurial, 39 year old minister was viewed as
too immature and immoderate to hold his high office.

6. "Churchill Seizes Turkey's Warships" (pp 54-61): Churchill illegally
seized two powerful Turkish warships just built in Britain. Germany
signed a treaty with Turkey, possibly as the result of an offer of these
ships, possibly already known by Turkish leaders to be in British hands.

7. "An Intrigue at the Sublime Porte" (pp. 62-76): Two German warships
escaped undiscerning British efforts and entered the Turkish navy. When
Churchill harrassed Turkish ships, Turkey blocked the Dardanelles.
Turkey ended European privileges. Not perceiving splits in the Turkish
cabinet, not considering Ottoman military capacity significant, England
began hostilities, on Churchill's initiative, several days before she
formally declared war. From war's start, British leaders considered the
postwar dismantling of the Ottoman Empire.

8. "Kitchener Takes Command" (pp. 79-87): England's governor of Egypt,
Earl Kitchener, was appointed War Minister. Kitchener had brought
England success in Sudan, South Africa, India and Egypt. He foresaw that
World War One would last years and be decided by millions battling in
Europe, not the Middle East whose one strategic point was Suez. From the
English enclave in Cairo, Kitchener and his subordinates imagined an
expertise in Arab affairs and now exerted great influence in an England
remarkably ignorant of the Middle East.

9. "Kitchener's Lieutenants" (pp. 88-95): Such men as Oswald Fitzgerald
in London, Francis Wingate in Khartoum and Gilbert Clayton in Cairo,
assumed to be experts, opined the Arabs were pro-British and didn't know
the extent of Arabic opposition to European and non-Islamic rule. Their
French equivalents fancied the Syrians were pro-French.

10. "Kitchener Sets Out to Capture Islam" (pp. 96-105): Kitchener
imagined that England could dominate Muslims by controlling the Caliph
and that she could assist the ruler of Mecca become Caliph. Kitchener
and his lieutenants fancied Islam, like Christianity, separated Church
and State. A promise of British support for the Arabian peninsula was
translated into Arabic as supporting independence for Ottoman Arabic
speaking lands.

11. "India Protests" (pp. 106-110): British officials in India, backing
rivals of the Meccan ruler and fearful of India's Muslims, opposed the
recklessness emanating from British Egypt. The Caliph in Istanbul
proclaimed a crusade against England with little effect.

12. "The Man in the Middle" (pp. 111-115): Sixty year old Husayn ibn Ali
supported the Sultan, but not the centralizing Young Turk government.
His sons Abdullah (bolder) and Feisal (cautious) gave differing advice.
He consulted his rival Abdul Aziz ibn Saud about the call for a crusade.
Husayn avoided connection with this proclamation.

13. "The Turkish Commanders Almost Lose the War" (pp. 119-123): Enver
attacked Russia in winter. Djemal attacked the Suez canal and was
repulsed. Mobilization adversely affected collection of the bountiful
1914 harvest.

14. "Kitchener Allows Britain to Attack Turkey" (pp. 124-129): Stalemate
in the long European trenches, fear of Russian reaction were a Greek
army to retake Constantinople, response to a Russian appeal before
Enver's defeat, led to a British naval attack on the Dardanelles.

15. "On to Victory at the Dardanelles" (pp. 130-136): Kitchener decided
to send British and colonial troops to assist the naval assault. Turkish
guns had little ammunition. British leaders reached for the credit.

16. "Russia's Grab For Turkey" (pp. 137-145): England agreed to Russian
demands for Constantinople, perhaps in return for the neutral third of
Persia, etc. England hoped to dissuade France from Syria, perhaps in
exchange for more of North Africa. Palestine was envisaged as part of
British Egypt.

17. "Defining Britain's Goals in the Middle East" (pp. 146-149):
England's de Bunsen committee, formed to recommend British goals on the
dismantling of the Ottoman Empire, reported on June 30, 1915. The
committee, largely influenced by Mark Sykes, Kitchener's man, saw five
territories (Syria, Palestine, Armenia, Anatolia and Jazirah-Iraq), much
British control and a railroad from Haifa to the Persian Gulf.

18. "At the Narrows of Fortune" (pp. 150-154): Mines destroyed ships and
British nerve. While Turks prepared to flee Istanbul, the English ceased
the naval campaign. Thusly ended an opportunity to perpetuate British,
French and Russian imperialist designs.

19. "The Warriors" (pp. 155-158): Enver gave command to Germany's Liman
von Sanders. Ian Hamilton, England's commander, took three weeks
bringing troops from Egypt. Mustapha Kemal tossed back some British
colonials. Liman's reinforcements confronted others. Both sides dug in,
Turks on higher ground.

20. "The Politicians" (pp. 159-162): Churchill was blamed. On May 19,
1915, a coalition government formed and Churchill was demoted.

21. "The light That Failed" (pp. 163-167): Kitchener urged continuing
the Gallipoli campaign, until sent out to observe its full futility.
When his offer to resign was refused, many of his duties were given to
William Robertson.

22. "Creating the Arab Bureau" (pp. 168-172): Mark Sykes returned from a
fact finding tour to recommend creation of an Arab bureau. This was
established in Cairo with David Hogarth as head and T.E. Lawrence,
Philip Graves and Kinahan Cornwallis among its members.

23. "Making Promises to the Arabs" (pp. 173-187): Hussein's son Feisal
failed to reverse Ottoman plans to remove Hussein on war's end. Feisal
met secret society members in Damascus. These urged Hussein lead an Arab
revolt. Muhammad Sharif al-Faruqi deserted the Ottoman army, offerred
Englsnd intelligence and requested assurances concerning independence
after the revolt. At Kitchener's insistence, England promised Hussein
Arab independence, though under British protection and excluding coastal

areas reserved for France. Egyptian governor McMahon hedged greatly.
Hussein claimed also land intended for France. England's foreign office,
greatly doubting an Arab revolt, gave little thought to fulfilling such
promises.

24. "Making Promises to the European Allies" (pp. 188-199): Kitchener's
man Sykes negotiated with the French. He agreed to French control of
Syria, Lebanon and on to Aleppo to buffer anticipated Russian expansion.
England was to have Basra and Baghdad, Akka and Haifa; the rest of
Palestine could be international.

25. "Turkey's Triumph at the Tigris" (pp. 200-203): England seized Basra
to protect Persia, then recklessly moved on Baghdad. She came close, but
fell back. Pursued and long besieged, she surrendered.

26. "Behind Enemy Lines" (pp. 207-216): Russia occupied Teheran and
northern Persia, England Shiraz and the south. Germans stirred tribal
revolt England subdued with difficulty. Ottoman troops protected a
pro German base at Kermanshah. Arabs remained loyal. Ottomans distrusted
Russian Jews. Djemal Pasha ordered them expelled. Germany and America
urged reconsideration. Ottomans also moved against Armenians, up to one
and a half million dying. Djemal Pasha's offer to stage a coup was
rejected by England and France wanting territorial gains.

27. "Kitchener's Last Mission" (pp. 216-217): Kitchener sent on a
mission to Russia died when his ship struck a German mine.

28. "Hussein's Revolt" (pp. 218-228): Fearing an approaching Ottoman
force would depose him, Hussein revolted. Ottoman Arabs remained loyal
to the Empire. Hussein had trouble with local Ottoman garrisons. British
ships secured ports. England, finding the view quaint, tried to respect
Muslim only presence in the sacred Islamic land. France provided some
one thousand Muslim troops. England brought some from India. Hussein's
son Abdullah led a guerrilla force with T.E. Lawrence as liason. The
first major obstacle was Ottoman held Medina.

29. "Fall of the Allied Governments: Britain and France" (231-238):
British losses on the battlefield led to diminished support for the
government. On December 7, 1916, Lloyd George headed a second coalition
government, one also excluding Churchill. Alfred Milner, War Minister in
1918, and Lloyd George both favoured British domination of the Middle
East. In November 1917, Georges Clemenceau, an opponent of overseas
expansion, came to power in France.

30. "The Overthrow of the Czar" (pp. 239-249): War engendered massive
economic upheaval everywhere, though Russia, afflicted with profiteering
and poor infrastructure, felt it especially severely. Istanbul housed
some Russian revolutionaries who advised the Ottomans and Germans on
such things as supporting Lenin. He took Russia out of the war, a thing
the Social Democrats had failed to do. The Ottoman Empire, against
outside expectations, continued, though Lloyd George remained its
formidable adversary.

31. "The New World" (pp. 253-262): President Wilson promoted peace, but
German attacks on US ships brought America in against Germany; the US
remained at peace with Turkey. Russian revolutionaries published Czarist
secret treaties. Wilson's postwar proposals opposed expanded European
imperialism in the Middle East.

32. "Lloyd George's Zionism" (pp. 263-275): Lloyd George had little 
support for his wish to attack the Ottoman Empire. He wanted to exert
British control over Mesopotamia and Palestine, while excluding France.
Since the 1830s some English leaders saw Jews in Palestine as supporters
of the Ottoman Empire and as excuses for British intervention there. 
Europe's infatuation with nationalism led to visions of a Jewish nation.
In 1903 England offerred land in Uganda, but Jews preferred Palestine.

33. "Toward the Balfour Declaration" (pp. 276-283): Christian Western 
leaders sympathized with Jews going to Palestine. Aaron Aaronsohn's
agricultural work suggested Palestine could support both immigrants and
the indigenous population. British imperialists such as Smuts from South
Africa suggested a League of Nation's mandate for British control of
Palestine, envisaged as always remaining British. 

34. "The Promised Land" (pp. 284-301): Zionist leaders met British 
officials. Gaza beat off British attacks in the Spring of 1917. A French
declaration of support for Zionism put pressure on England, but some
leading English Jews opposed this. German newspapers suggested Germany
might soon make a declaration. On November 2, 1917, Lord Balfour issued
public British support for a Jewish national home in Palestine. Louis 
Brandeis strenuously advocated Zionism in America.

35. "Jerusalem For Christmas" (pp. 305-314): British Indian troops took
Baghdad on March 11, 1917. London offerred some self rule, unaware of
local complexities and of the reluctance of its own commanders. Aqaba
fell on July 6th. Lawrence received credit. He entered Jerusalem on
September 11, 1917 with Allenby. The German offensive in Europe caused 
a call for British troops from Palestine.

36. "The Road to Damascus" (pp. 315-331): British officials generally
favoured British control of the Middle East with as little role for 
France as possible. Despite high sounding words, they did not favour 
Arab independence, except in the Arabian peninsula. They were late in
realizing the extent of Islamic revivalism in the peninsula. They also
failed to perceive the extent of Arabic feeling against European
domination and against European Jewish migration to Palestine.

37. "The Battle For Syria" (pp. 332-347): British plans called for an
Arab entry into conquered Damascus, but British commanders led troops
into the city. Feisal objected to French control of Syria. Feisal's
troops entered Beirut. France quickly landed forced from warships.
Disease struck down many British soldiers in Syria. France insisted on
its right to control Syria.

38. "The Parting of the Ways" (pp. 351-362): Communist Russia rejected
Persian partition; Transcaucasian lands became independent. Turkey
advanced on Baku, alarming England among others.It was important for
oil. Some thousand British soldiers occupied Baku for six weeks. In
Central Asia, British forces joined Turks in fighting Soviets, Germans
and freed Austrian prisoners. 

39. "By the Shores of Troy" (pp. 363-379): Bulgaria surrendered on 
September 29, 1918. At once, Germany and Turkey considered peace. This
surprised England anxious to occupy more Ottoman territory. Turkey 
formed a new government on October 14th. It sent captured General 
Townsend with a peace offer to the English. Turkey surrendered to 
England on October 30th. On December 1st French President Clemenceau
agreed to England obtaining Mosul and Palestine. England intended to
deprive France of Syria.

40. "The Ticking Clock" (pp. 383-388): Lloyd George called a snap
election for December 14, 1918 and won overwhelming victory. He
appointed Churchill War Minister. He began demobilization, including 
of the million soldiers occupying the Ottoman Empire. Internally, 
England faced economic collapse, as Lloyd George focused on drawing
Middle East borders.

41. "Betrayal" (pp. 389-402): Enormously popular President Wilson
strode above scheming politicians at home and abroad. Greek forces 
landed in Anatolia to deny Italy possession. The Paris Peace Talks,
despite Wilson, concluded with imperial ambitions valued more than the
interests of the populations concerned. The US Congress, controlled by
Wilson's political opponents, rejected his proposals.

42. "The Unreal World of the Peace Conference" (pp. 403-411): Peace
talks took time. British troops diminished in strength, withdrawn from
some former Russian territories and from Kurdistan. Sultan Mehmed VI
dissolved parliament and ruled by decree. Mustapha Kemal was sent to
restore order at Samsun. He quickly rose to head Turkish resistence. 
In August 1920, some Turks signed the treaty dividing up Turkey. France
obtained Syria, Greece Western Anatolia, etc. 

43. "The Troubles Begin" (pp. 415-416): Riots and Uprisings from Egypt
to Afghanistan struck many British officials as emerging from one
conspiratorial centre.

44. "Egypt: the Winter of 1918-1919" (pp. 417-420): Egyptian leaders
calling on England to honour promises of independence and to attend the
Paris Peace Conference were arrested and confined in Malta. There was
national unrest. With difficulty England continued to hold Egypt against
Egyptian wishes.

45. "Afghanistan: the Spring of 1919" (pp. 423-425): The new emir of
Afghanistan declared independence from England and invaded India to
support Indian independence. British aerial bombing of Afghanistan 
prompted him to speak peace. The treaty confirmed Afghan independence.
The emir established closer ties with the Soviets.

46. "Arabia: The Spring of 1919" (pp. 424-426): Ibn Saud with his
religiously enthusiastic Wahhabi warriors swept through Arabia to
England's surprise and powerlessness.

47. "Turkey: January 1920" (pp. 427-434): Turkish nationalists won 
elections; Turkish troops defeated French forces in Cilicia. England
seized Istanbul and interned 150 leading Turks (many elected
parlimentarians) in Malta. Mustapha Kemal became president of the
National Assembly in Ankara. Greeks advanced. Change of leadership
cost Greece some European support, but it lost not of its confidence.

48. "Syria and Lebanon: The Spring and Summer of 1920" (pp. 435-440):
The Syrian General Congress proclaimed independence for Syria. This
included Lebanon and Palestine. Iraq declared independence under 
Abdullah, Feisal's brother. England ceased shielding Syria from
French intentions and a French force entered Damascus on July 26,
1920. King Feisal was swiftly forced into exile.

49. "Eastern Palestine (Transjordan): 1920" (pp. 441-444): France 
opposed Zionism, perceiving it to be anti-French. The English saw
Transjordan as somewhat anarchic and feared Arab raids against the
French would provoke French occupation. They also feared France would
gain Arab support because of British Zionism.

50. "Palestine--Arabs and Jews" (pp. 445-448): Palestinian Arabs 
preferred being with Syria, but not France. They opposed Zionism and
armed conflict ensued. A Jewish militia, composed of veterans formed
and protected colonists, but members were imprisoned by British
officials. London investigated, found its existing officials pro Arab
and dismissed them. Herbert Samuel, a Jew, was appointed instead.

51. "Mesopotamia (Iraq): 1920" (pp. 449-454): There was considerable
opposition to British presence in Iraq. England paid in money and
with sone 450 lives to remain there.

52. "Persia (Iran): 1920" (pp. 454-462): In 1919 Lord Curzon bribed
Persian ministers to sign a treaty very favourable to England. Soviet
forced defeated British and White Russians on the Persian Caspian and
formed a Persian Socialist Republic. The British commander in Persia
installed Reza Khan as head of the Persian Cossacks and urged him to
seize power. He did on February 21, 1921. However, the new Persian
government quickly signed a treaty with Soviet Russia.  

53. "Unmasking Britain's Enemies" (pp. 465-470): English officials
saw the conspiratorial hand of German Jewish Communism behind all the
upheaval in the Middle East, unaware that it was British nonMuslim
presence that provoked opposition to England.

54. "The Soviet Challenge in the Middle East" (pp. 471-474): British
departments disagreed on the importance of a strong military pressence
in Persia. Churchill preferred opposing the Soviets in Russia. After
Communist victory, England prepared to accept Russia, if Russia ceased
working against British interests in the Middle East.

55. "Moscow's Goals" (pp. 475-479): Lenin favoured self determination 
of peoples and imposition of Bolshevism by force. Central Asians found
themselves opposed by all Russians. Soviets reconquered Czarist Muslim
territories.  

56. "A Death in Bukhara" (pp. 480-490): Enver with difficulty reached
Moscow, then the Communist Congress in Baku. He was not very welcome.
Soviets stopped him from returning to Turkey and opposing Mustapha
Kemal. In late 1921 Enver brought together diverse Bukharan factions
against Russia. His arrogant ways cost him. Soviets defeated his forces
and killed him on August 4, 1922.

57. "Winston Churchill Takes Charge" (pp. 493-514): Churchill had 
criticized Lloyd George's anti-Turkish policy. In 1921 Churchill was
appointed to head a new Middle East department. T.E. lawrence, famous
from highly exaggerated publicity, exerted influence. Churchill cut
expenses seventy five per cent. He considered air power important. He
convened the Cairo Conference and implemented such decisions as having
Feisal rule Iraq and Abdullah Transjordan. England presented Ibn Saud
with his borders and defended them against Saudi forces.

58. "Churchill and the Question of Palestine" (pp. 515-529): Arabs
opposed Zionism, at times violently. British officials in Palestine
sympathized with the Arabs. A British official secured the appointment
of a strong anti Zionist Grand Mufti. 

Churchill was pro Zionist and could not comprehend Arab unwillingness
to accept a Jewish homeland in Palestine. English political pressure at
home opposed Zionism. Churchill made a furious speech in parliament re
honouring pledges and economic benefit and overcame such opposition. 
Still, some Jews in Palestine felt they'd have to defend themselves.

59. "The Alliances Come Apart" (pp. 530-539): Wartime allies became 
postwar rivals; Soviet Russia, Mussolini's Italy, France (her fears of
Germany rejected by England angry at France's role in the Middle East)
and America (isolationist, though for oil concerns preferring British
control) no longer stood with England.   

60. "A Greek Tragedy" (pp. 540-557): Lloyd George encouraged Greece to
push deeper into Anatolia. Initially successful, the Greeks were 
defeated by Mustapha Kemal and his Turkish nationalists. 1.5 million
Greek residents of Asia Minor fled. Lloyd George sought to hold the
Dardanelles. France and Italy withdrew. Canada and Australia declined
England's request for troops. The local British commander refused 
London's beligerent orders and war was averted. A coup overthrew and 
executed Greek leaders; Lloyd George lost a snap election.

61. "The Settlement of the Middle Eastern Question" (pp. 558-567): 
Middle Eastern countries, borders, etc. are largely those decided by
Europeans in 1922. This imposition from outside continues to clash
with local understandings, precipitating wars for national survival
amongst a people whose worldview did not include the European concept
of the nation state, but rather the religious community.

Westerners, so mired in their own assumptions, would do well to read
this work attentively, seeking to see through the eyes of the Muslims
whose homeland forms the scene of this tale thrust upon them.

Michael McKenny completed this precis on August 4, 2006 C.E.  


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