Remember Michael Collins?

Abu@Lawrence@Arabia, Dienstag, 10. Juni 2003, 01:34 (vor 7645 Tagen) @ Fiona

The ´Lawrence Of Arabia´ legacy
Nov 13, 2002

"..The current Middle East crisis between the
Israelis and the Muslims is the result of some of
the most incredible blunders. But perhaps there is
no greater blunder than some promises made by a
British officer to a bunch of backward
camel-riding Arab Muslims from Western Arabia....

...Lawrence was moderately successful at gathering
a few feuding tribes of Arabia to attack and
pillage Turkish supply lines and attack Aqaba. He
convinced some to race to Damascus and enter the
city just ahead of the onrushing British Army. The
principle tribe was known as the Hashemites, who
were the guardians of the holy Muslim sites of
Mecca and Medina....

.....To make a long story short, Lawrence was able
to persuade the British - with the pressure of his
media popularity helping - to put together three
provinces of the old Ottoman Empire and make one
country called Iraq and give it to a Hashemite
prince named Feisal. The people of these three
provinces have hated each other for centuries.
Apart from a ruthless dictator like Saddam
Hussein, no one can keep them together.


Lawrence also was able to persuade the British to
betray their mandate to create a homeland for the
Jews. When the Saudis drove the Hashemites out of
Mecca and Medina, he persuaded the British to give
prince Abdullah the land mandated to the Jews
known as Trans-Jordan as a consolation prize.
Today, that is known as the Royal Kingdom of
Jordan....""

From A rather fascinating: http://www.worldnetdail
y.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=29648