Lawrence took a long-term view of history. He never believed that the specific political solutions set up in the new states in the Arab world would last. He expected the states to try different forms of government until eventually they found something that worked for them, he says, adding the frontiers drawn up on the ground - on the basis of the Sykes-Picot map - werent those recommended by Lawrence. Lawrence could not have foreseen the two factors that have dominated Middle East politics since the 1930s - the discovery of oil in the Arabian Peninsula and the State of Israel, Wilson says. Perhaps this is the most appropriate lesson that Western fighters can draw from the experience of the original saviour of the Arabs: Be careful what you fight for - the end result might not be what you had in mind. aljazeera/indepth/features/2014/04/white-saviours-arabs-syria-libya-201442145225666272.html
Posted on: Tue, 22 Apr 2014 19:15:40 +0000
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