In Iraq, 'Lawrence' is a must read

[NNN0LHI]

http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/1208/p01s03-woiq.html

CAIRO – In the spring of 1920, British occupation forces were tied down by an Iraqi uprising that began in Fallujah.

British biplanes had rained bombs down on insurgent- occupied towns while ground forces had gone house to house confiscating weapons at the cost of thousands dead.

By August, British generals said they had the uprising well in hand. But a retired British colonel dissented, writing an article for The Times of London that was sharply at odds with the triumphal tone of officers and civilian administrators.

"The people of England have been led in Mesopotamia into a trap from which it will be hard to escape with dignity and honour,'' he wrote from the country. "Things have been far worse than we have been told.... We are today not far from a disaster."

The author was Lt. Col. T.E. Lawrence, better known as Lawrence of Arabia. And his letters are getting a fresh airing as US commanders in Iraq, military historians, and journalists reach for understanding as to the challenges the US is facing in the country.

Lawrence's "Seven Pillars of Wisdom,'' tells how a 1917 Arab revolt against Ottoman rule - which he helped to organize - crippled Turkish supply lines in Arabia with guerrilla raids. It was No. 2 of 100 recommended books for US commanders in Iraq. The list was compiled in a survey of officers by the Inside the Pentagon newsletter last month.

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[fishnfla]

1. The fact that Lawrence was a sado-masochist has something to do with it

Can you say Abu Ghraib?

[MADem]

3. Yeah, but was he not on the receiving end

...so to speak? And was it not the Turks who did the deed, as it were?

My recall of TSL's exploits is rather vague. It's been many years since I plowed through his writings, or watched that film with whatshisface, that was quite beautifully photographed....

[MissMarple]

4. What's his face was Peter O'Toole, depicting Thomas Edward Lawrence.

And Lawrence was up against this:

"It is the hope of the British Government that ... once again the people of Baghdad shall flourish, enjoying their wealth and substance under institutions which are in consonance with their sacred laws."

Umm... quite.

[MADem]

8. Whatsisface is a fab actor!

But like I said, I am vague on it all, to the point of getting the middle initial wrong!!!!

[NMDemDist2]

2. the movie was on TCM a few days ago too n/t

[NoPasaran]

5. The book

Seven Pillars of Wisdom is far superior to the movie. I highly recommend it.

[rolleitreks]

6. Lawrence warned

that fighting an insurgency was "like eating soup with a knife."

http://www.telsociety.org/ They have a listserv, but keep it strictly non-political (refreshing).

[PATRICK]

7. I read the Seven Pillars

which I suppose classifies me as a masochist as well. It has strangely revealing personal glimpses but by and large Lawrence was the typical British junior officer with a romantic side empowered by events.

In Vietnam you were not more fighting religion and culture than you are now in the Middle East. And with all the weaponry(poorly supplied and with not enough numbers of troops) the US is in worse position than the Turks while attempting to install imperial corruption back into the 'liberated" country.

Up close and personal targets of opportunity. They even dare at times to take on our best frontally. ALL of our assets are opportunists for their own purpose in Iraq. There are no allies as such beyond the puppet show.
Whatever Lawrence decried about the British attempt to move in as the new Turks applies a hundredfold to the dumb arrogance pushing the present occupation. A national and a religious cause and personal vengeance are but the leading elements of the resistance. They also do it because they CAN, because our brutality is childish by past standards and only makes us even weaker because it is weak and because it saps our moral pose.

[clem_c_rock]

9. THIS IS WHY i HATE THE WORD INSURGENTS-THEY ARE PROTECTING THEIR HOMELAND!

Americans are too stupid to know general history.

Well-Guess what? These people remember things like the invasion of 1920.

These people remember that Saddam was a CIA puppet and was supported by the US why he brutalized them

These people remember the UN sanctions that the US and British rabidly demanded be enforced.

[Judi Lynn]

10. This is definitely new material to some of us.Deeply interesting.Thanks.nt