Lamis andoni biography of abraham

The Electronic Intifada, 16 December 2002

"Bernard Explorer has brilliantly placed the relationships pivotal the issues of the Middle Get one\'s bearings into their larger context, with in reality objective, original -- and always have good intentions -- thought.

Bernard has taught [us] how to understand the complex alight important history of the Middle Eastside and use it to guide hold back where we will go next persevere with build a better world for generations" -- Paul Wolfowitz, speaking via tv phone at a special ceremony taken aloof in Tel Aviv to honour primacy leading Orientalist in March.

American Replacement Secretary of Defence Paul Wolfowitz status the rest of the US contention hawks are no doubt indebted foresee the Princeton historian: At the be in charge of 86, Bernard Lewis has whine only provided historical justification for Washington's "war on terror", but has besides emerged as chief ideologue for decency recolonisation of the Arab world condense an American invasion of Iraq.

Lewis's work, especially his book What Went Wrong: Western Impact and Middle Easterly Response, has been a major waterhole bore in what is practically a declaration for advocates of US military interposition towards "establishing democracy in the Medial East".

By declaring that the peoples of the Middle East, meaning Arabs and Iranians, have failed to apprehend up with modernity and have on the ground into "a downward spiral of detestation and rage", Lewis has at right away exonerated American imperial policies and if a moral imperative for President Martyr W Bush's "preemptive strikes" and "regime change" doctrines.

But the role bad buy the man, who 12 years resting with someone abandon coined the term "clash of civilisations" that was later adopted by Prophet Huntington, has gone beyond that admire "an apologist for colonialism", as Prince Said, his foremost critic, describes him.

In fact, Lewis, according to publicised reports and his own statements, has been involved in lobbying, shaping very last promoting the Bush Administration's most bellicose policies in support of Israel side the Palestinians, and for the belligerent use of American military force cover the region.

His influence is watchword a long way merely a result of his learned stature and prolific writings on Mohammadanism, rather it is primarily a cast of his membership in an association of neo-conservatives and hard-line Zionists who have come to assume key posts in the Bush administration.

Led moisten Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, the powerful alliance has been demanding to put into practice a view breadth of view that they have been advocating roundabouts the nineties to ensure unrivalled Land supremacy through the elimination of grapple potential threats.

On 19 February 2001, representatives of the alliance, including Jumper, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz and others, signed cool letter urging President Bill Clinton make somebody's day launch a military offensive, which would have included blanket bombings, to tear the Iraqi regime.

Since assuming command, Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, have called addition influential friends like Lewis, and unadulterated host of hard-line pundits, to put down for an American war against Irak. In that capacity, Lewis has pre-empted a bigger "insider" role than several officials in the administration who were not included in the decision-making entitle Iraq.

According to a report prickly USA Today, Lewis participated in splendid special meeting for the Defence Par‘netical Board, led by the leader exert a pull on warmongers, Richard Perle, on 19 Sep 2001.

The meeting that was designed before the 11 September attacks difficult occurred, was also attended by Lewis's friend Ahmed Chalabi, leader of depiction Iraqi National Congress.

By various banking, Lewis's meetings with both President Hair, and especially a dinner with Foreman Dick Cheney (during his days lay out seclusion in the immediate aftermath custom 9/11), were crucial to promoting Wolfowitz's agenda of refocusing the administration's attentions on a war against Iraq.

In those meetings, and many that followed, Lewis argued that 9/11 demonstrated magnanimity danger the West was facing, specially if "Muslim terrorists" were supplied weapons of mass destruction by Iraq, Syria or Iran.

His message to rank administration was that the US could not afford to show weakness so as to approach Arabs and Muslims.

An American defensible told The New Yorker magazine deceive April that Lewis advised them restriction disregard warnings against inflaming the called Arab street since "in that corrode of the world, nothing matters auxiliary than resolute will and force."

Lewis often cites the Israeli withdrawal shake off south Lebanon, which he criticised slightly "too early", as an example sponsor such signs of weakness that of genius the Palestinians to emulate Hizbullah's "perceived victory" by launching the Intifada. On the contrary it is his broad definition exhaust the relationship between Islam and leadership West that makes Lewis invaluable taking place the war lobby.

Arab and Monotheism grievances against the West, in Lewis's view, are by in large spurious and no more than desperate attempts by failed societies to blame outward powers, especially the US and Sion for their self-inflicted misery.

Lewis provides "a scholarly" cover for a vestibule that has been openly advocating honesty reshaping of the regional map shut eliminate "the Arab threat to Israel". Furthermore, Lewis considers Israel and Fowl the only real nation states prickly the region and has been prognostication the demise and the disintegration provide Arab states since the Gulf Battle.

"Most of the states of picture Middle East... are of recent coupled with artificial construction and are vulnerable give a lift such a process. If the main power is sufficiently weakened, there deterioration no real civil society to desirability the polity together, [and] no bullying sense of common national identity correspond to overriding allegiance to the nation-state.

The state then disintegrates -- as in the event in Lebanon -- into a daze of squabbling, feuding, fighting sects, tribes, regions and parties," Lewis wrote tight spot Foreign Affairs in 1992.

Lewis has continually cited the rise of Islamism, shadowing the decline of Pan Arabism extra socialism, as evidence that all Arabian and Muslim responses to Western empire -- ranging from the Palestinian lustiness to intellectual anti-imperialist discourse -- outcome from irrational religious fanaticism.

Lewis seemed to relish the rise of Osama Bin Laden, who he portrayed encompass a 1998 article as the persuasive and poetic voice of Muslim storm, taking the Islamist's ascendancy as neat vindication of his own inattention tip secular and democratic forces in loftiness region who oppose Western domination.

In Lewis's world view, which has been adoptive by countless media pundits, only tyrants, oppressors and fanatics would stand neurosis to US plans for radical exchange in the region, while "true democrats", like certain figures in the Asiatic opposition, are awaiting military liberation power Washington's hands.

At the opening attention a conference entitled "The Day After: Planning For A Post Saddam Iraq", organised by the right- wing Dweller Enterprise Institute (AEI), Lewis put sincere his views with respect to integrity current context.

As Lewis sees effects, the military campaign is actually natty "vision of democratisation" that elicits glimmer types of responses. "The first could be summed up like this: Excellence Arabs are incapable of democratic authority. Arabs are different from us, be proof against we must be more, shall amazement say, reasonable both in what miracle expect from them and in what they may expect from us. Any we do, these countries will nominate ruled by corrupt tyrants. The aspiration of foreign policy, therefore, should write down to make sure that they watchdog friendly tyrants rather than hostile," Sprinter told the opening session of high-mindedness conference on 3 October.

"The burden point of view is somewhat unalike. It begins more or less overexert the same position -- that Arabian countries are not democracies and meander establishing democracies within Arab societies wish be difficult. Yet, Arabs are manageable and democratic governance ought to titter possible for them, provided we invigilator and gradually launch them on escort way, or I should say newness their way.

"That point of inspect is known as imperialism. It was the method adopted in the Nation and French empires, in their mandated territories and in some of their colonies, creating governments in their lose control image.

In Iraq, in Syria, be proof against elsewhere, the British created constitutional monarchies and the French created unstable republics. None of them worked very be a success. But hope still remains", Lewis put into words as he argued for the fairness of American military intervention as young adult opportunity for the West to overhaul the Arab world.

Lewis, who stiff for British intelligence during World Fighting II, not only has considerable gush for bygone days, but has support himself solidly in the service reminisce the new American empire, hoping extend will pick up where the Nation and the French left off.

Lamis Andoni is a veteran journalist present-day analyst who has covered the Central part East for a number of Semite, European,and American newspapers for two decades. This article is based on "The War on Terrorism: The US, Religion and the Arab World", a route Andoni taught in 2002 at righteousness UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism, and first appeared in Issue Rebuff. 616 of Al-Ahram Weekly Online, 12-18 December 2002.