Book Review [54] : The Great War for Civilisation

Middle East fascinates me more than any other subject apart from India. Here lies the seeds of almost all the geopolitical problems World is facing right now. From the days of Hammurabi to Achaemenid Empire, from Alexander to the conquest of Islam, from Crusades to the end of WW2 and from the establishment of Israel to the ongoing civil war in Syria, Middle East has never been in peace. Wars, genocides, ethnic cleansing, riots, dictatorships etc have never left this ancient land that many people call as Cradle of human Civilisation. Robert Fisk has been a superbly talented Foreign Correspondent and a writer and no one tells the story of middle-east better than him. He writes with amazing authority and neutrality that one often thinks or mis-assumes him as an Arab. In this great book, aptly titled "The Great War For Civilisation", he talks about the legacy of World Wars, forgotten genocides, persecution, double standard of western powers and reconquista of middle east by the Neo-Crusaders. 

Arab people and countries are paying a heavy price for the sins committed by Nazi Germany. Hitler killed millions of Jews but instead of creating Jewish homeland in Germany and forcing Germany to give "compensation", Arab land of Palestine has been acquired for the Jews based mainly on the Biblical right of the Jews on the land of Palestine. Millions of Palestinians are now living in the neighboring countries of Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, Syria etc and in the pseudo-ghetto of the impoverished Gaza strip. And the remaining land of Palestine i.e West Bank and Gaza Strip are also getting illegaly encroached by the Israeli settlements and the World is sleeping.

He also talks about the Iranian Revolution of 1979 and post Revolution killings, the Iran-Iraq war of 1980-88, Gulf War 1990-91 and the final Gulf War of 2003. US supported Saddam like its baby until he invaded Kuwait. US even condoned the use of Chemical weapons on Iranian Army and the northern Kurds in late 1980s. The way US manufactured the consent for its Iraq war is also written very arty. He also talks about the USSR involvement in Afghanistan and its eventual withdrawal and disintegration, and his meeting with OBL first in Sudan and later in Afghanistan. 

He talks in detail about the "first" genocide of the 20th Century during first World War. In this genocide about 1.5 mn Armenian Christians were murdered by the Ottoman Turks and their hangmen the Kurds. Even today, Turkey denies this Holocaust and its a great shame that even Israel takes it lightly.

This book is a very good source for all the people who are interested in world politics and in the history causing the current turmoil.  
Highly Recommended (9/10).