History Courses For Dr. Christopher C. Lovett
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History Courses For Dr. Christopher C. Lovett |
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Updated as of 2 October 05 Today in History: On October 2, 1780, Major John Andrι, a British spy associated with Benedict Arnold, was executed on this day in history. Quote of the Day: "In my view we are much worse off now than when we went into Iraq. This is not a partisan position. I voted for these guys." A senior figure at a military-sponsored think tank as told to James Fallows in "Bush's Lost Year" in The Atlantic Monthly (Oct. 2004) Take the Ann Coulter Quiz Where are you politically? Take the Neocon Quiz and find out. "History is Far too Important to be left to History Professors" Teaching isn't such a novel idea
Bibliography:
History of Disease Contemporary Terrorist Organizations Map of Islamic Terrorist Cells in the U.S.A.
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The Clash of CivilizationsModern World CivilizationsFall 2003Why are We Going to War? What happened? A few years before Saddam was our bud. Now what has happened in the interim? What is going to happen? Who really gives a damn? Why should we care if we send 250,000 Americans to the Middle East? Its not us. Right?The End of World War I and Turkey The Ottoman Naval Minister signed the Mudros Armistice in October 1918 ended the Turkish role in World War I. By this time, the Ottoman Empire was prostrate. The Turkish Army suffered 325,000 KIAs and another 400,000 WIAs. Another 250,000 were either POWs or were listed as MIAs. The cost of the war contributed to a crushing tax burden on the Turkish public.The Fate of the Armenians The mass murder of the Armenians disrupted the Ottoman economy. The Armenians were Christians. Still they were loyal subjects. And industrious. But in the prewar period elements in Armenia sought an independent state. The responsibility rested with Armenian terrorists.Who Remembers the Armenians? The Armenians had served in the Army and the bureaucracy. But Armenians also lived in Russia too. Only a few wanted a separate nation state. Starting in 1915, the Armenians were driven from their homes. With the men often killed. Over a million Armenians were murdered.The Impact of the Armenian Genocide The survivors lost everything. Many relatives and heirs of the survivors wanted revenge against the Turks. An independent Armenia was created in 1918. Some actually wanted to make it a U.S. Mandate. The U.S. public was clearly pro-Armenian. But part of the Armenia state was absorbed into the new Turkish state. The rest taken by the Soviet Union.The Impact of World War I for Turkey The war and conscription deprived many areas of Turkey of available men. Farms and villages were in a serious state of disrepair. Forests were deforested for fuel. High rates of desertion among the army. Armed bands of former soldiers roamed the countryside. Many Young Turks fled into the Caucus region in hopes of establishing a new Turkish State/Empire.Legacy of World War I The war forced a major change for the Turks. Not only did the Turks eventually remove the Sultan, but managed to force the Allies to revise the Versailles Settlement. But also drove the French from the Anatolia. And in the process establish a new order in the former Ottoman Empire.The British and the Arabs The British managed to get the Arabs to rise up and rebel against the Turks. Faisal for instances saw himself ruling from Damascus. The revolt took place on June 5, 1916. With the help of Lawrence, aka, Lawrence of Arabia, the Arabs were quite successful. However, the Allies had other plans.The Sykes-Picot Agreement During the war the Allies divided the former Ottoman Empire between them. Russia got the Straits. The Greeks got a piece of Turkey too. As did the French which received Syria and Lebanon. The British were going to get Palestine. But no one told the Arabs. This was signed in May 1916.How Did It Begin? Does it imply a deep split between Muslims and Jews? Is it solely a religious conflict? What role did Christian Anti-Semitism play in the Birth of Israel? For nearly two millennia Jews lacked a national identity. Still they maintained their religious and group identity in tact. Starting in the 18th Century Jews were freed from their earlier restrictions. But in the late 19th Century the ugly head of Anti-Semitism raised its head again. A Homeland was the only answerThe Role of Theodore Herzl The influx of young Russian immigrants would not have sustained the movement to Palestine for very long. Who altered the situation forever was Theodore Herzl. Who was an assimilated Jewish writer that was shocked by what had happened to Alfred Dreyfus in France. Following that incident he wrote Der Judenstaat. He had the first International Zionist Congress in Basel, Switzerland in 1897.World War I World War I helped revive Political Zionism. Both the Allies and Central Powers needed Jewish support. For the most part, most of the articulate Jewish opinion leaders lived in Austria and Germany. As well as the Ottoman Empire. Even before the U.S. entry into World War I, most American Jews supported the Central Powers because of the Russian Problem. And the Mounting Pogroms there. Germany had to be careful concerning Jewish matters for fears of alienating Istanbul. Then the British entered the picture.The Balfour Declaration The leading Zionist in Britain was Chaim Weizmann, a chemist, who helped the war effort by synthesizing acetone, a chemical in explosives. David Lloyd George, a devote reader of the Bible, supported Zionism too. The Foreign Secretary Lord Balfour supported the concept too. And so notified British Zionists of the Cabinets decision too.The Balfour Letter His Majestys Government view with favor the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavors to facilitate the achievement of this object, it being understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of the existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country.What Did the Note Say? This has became the Magna Carta of Political Zionism. It does not say that Britain would turn Palestine into a Jewish state. The British only promised to create a Jewish home in the region. Likewise, it guaranteed it would not harm the religious rights for both Christians and Jews. Who made up 93 percent of the population. The goal for Jewish groups to find a way to insure their rights.The British Take Charge of Palestine With the British occupation, the British turned Jerusalem into their administrative center. Quickly they became involved in Arab-Jewish disputes. The Arabs were concerned with British intentions after the British covered-up the finding of the King-Crane Commission. The first Arab Revolt came in April 1920 and Arabs began killing Jews and destroying Jewish Property. By 1922, the League of Nations awarded Britain the Mandate for Palestine.British Mandate for Palestine The League charged Britain with adhering to the Balfour Declaration. Britain was to encourage Jews to migrate to Palestine. Help settle Jews there. Also establish a Jewish Agency to help administrate Palestine.The Split Between Britain and the Jews Winston Churchill as Colonial Secretary denied that GB was obligated to create a Jewish homeland. Restrict immigration to Palestine for Jews. Also create the Emirate of Transjordan. Some Jews, especially Vladimir Jabotinsky, wanted to confront the Brits over the concept of the Jewish National homeland.World War II Changed Everything How did World War II alter the situation in the Middle East? How did that happen? What impact did the Holocaust play in the process?The Wars for Israel 1948 War for Independence. 1956 Suez Crisis. 1967 Six Day War. 1973 Yom Kippur WarReasons for the Israeli Victory The Odds were in the favor of the Arabs. In tanks alone they had 2,700 tanks to Israels 800. Fighters 800 to 190. Manpower 25 to 1. Yet they lost. Why?Facts about Iraq Second largest nation state in the Middle East. Large oil deposits. Divided between three groups Kurds, Sunnis (33%), and Shiites (55% of the population). Sought to replace Egypt as the principal Arab state.Coup and Revolution in Iraq The Iraq situation changed on July 14, 1958. The Iraqi revolution began as a coup. A group of Iraqi army officers seized the royal palace. Murdered Faisal II and his uncle, Abd al-Ilah and then hunted down and murdered Nuri al-Said. Who was a pro-Western Iraqi political leader.The Fall of the Shah In 1978, Iran seemed stable, but it was misleading. Soon, a friendly Iranian official planted a story in the press attacking Khomeini students began a sit-in Qom. The police attack and several students were killed. All the Shah did was replace his SAVAK chief. In September 1978, the SAVAK fired into a major demonstration killing hundreds. Leading ayatollahs told the government that the demonstrations would continue until parliamentary democracy was restored. The Shahs government asked Iraq to expel Khomeini, who then moved on to Paris.Cant Keep Down in Qom Once He Seen Paris The Shahs government made a considerable blunder by forcing Iraq to expel Khomeini. Now he was in Paris and other Iranian exiles. He managed to spread his fundamentalist message via long distance telephone calls, tape recordings, and Western news services. When he called for a strike it nearly closed down Irans oil industry. Pro-Khomeini mobs attack all symbols of the West in Tehran, including theaters and liquor stores.Does History Repeat Itself? Remembering how the Shah fled Mosaddiqs government in 1953. But only to return with the help of the CIA/MI6. Iranians were worried. When the Shah came to New York for medical treatment. The crisis erupted. Iranians stormed the U.S. Embassy. Taking sixty-three people Americans hostage.Charges and Counter-Charges The Iranians demanded that the Shah be returned and be tried. Then the Iranians demanded an apology in the Shahs crimes against the Iranian people. The U.S. was outraged. The U.S. had limited options available except for:It Went On and On and On It lasted for 444 days. In the meantime other things happened. RR was elected president. Sunni Fundamentalists gained control of the Main Mosque in Mecca. The Soviets moved into Afghanistan. Iran cut off oil to the West. In April 1980, the U.S. attempted to rescue the hostages and failed.The Attack Iraq attacked on 2 August 1990. The Al Sabah family fled to Saudi Arabia. Saddam claimed that Kuwait was stealing Iraqi oil from the Rumaylah Oil Field. The Americans after prodding from the British PM, acted. The first phase was move American and coalition troops to the theater.Then Came the StormFundamentalism in the Middle East The religious revival strikes back at the West for the Coca Colanization of the Middle East. A rejection of the values of Western cultural advances. Many religious figures in the Middle East saw this trend as more dangerous than Western imperialism. This was a struggle against modernity.Compliant Against the House of Saud Allowed Foreigners, ie, Americans to have bases near the Holy Places. Failure to provide opportunities for jobs and opportunities for Saudi youth. Fail to establish an open society. Failure to share the wealth.The Saudis Export Fundamentalism This was Wahhabism, a Fundamentalist Islamic Sect, that supports the Saudi regime. It was establish in the eighteenth century. By Abd al-Wahhab who died in 1787. The Saudi government exports the teaching of the sect abroad to other regions such as Pakistan and Indonesia. Often this is accomplished by support for madrasahs or Muslim schools.Targets of the Fundamentalists Scholars. Writers. Political opponents. Jews/Israelis. American business and political figures. Symbols of Western cultural imperialism. Victims can also be Muslim who challenge religious authority.Where Does This Happen? Algeria. Egypt. Tunisa. Saudi Arabia. Jordan. Afghanistan. Just to name a few.Some Important Victims Farag Foda, an Egyptian writer and thinker. Tahar Djaout, an Algerian writer who the fundamentalists said he wielded a mighty pen. Salman Rushdie. Plus women who challenge male authority.The Taliban Represses Women and MinoritiesThe Key IsWhy Do They Hate Us So? U.S. support of Israel. Putting the Shah back on the throne in Iran in the 1950s. U.S. troops in Saudi Arabia. The secularism of the West. The U.S. supports corrupt govts in the Middle East. U.S. blockade of Iraq. Inability to share in middle-Class life stylesIslamic Terrorism: 1968-79Key Terrorist Groups 1979-91The Globalization of Terror, 1991-01 Al-Qaeda (The Base) Armed Islamic Group (GIA): Aden-Abyan Islamic Army (AAIA): Harakat ul-Mujahidin (HUM): Jaish-e-Mohammed (Army of Mohammed): Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LT) (Army of the Righteous):Other Attacks on Americans Nov. 4, 1979 -- Hostages taken at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran May 1981-- Threats from Libya April 18, 1983-- Bombing of U.S. Embassy in Beirut Oct. 23, 1983-- Bombing of Marine barracks in Beirut Dec. 12, 1983-- Bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Kuwait March 16, 1984--CIA Station Chief William Buckley kidnapped Sept. 20, 1984-- Bombing of U.S. Embassy annex northeast of Beirut April 5, 1986--Bombing of La Belle Discotheque December 21, 1988--Bombing of Pan Am Flight 103What Do We Know About Bin Laden? Comes from one of the richest families in Saudi Arabia. Devoted to Wahhabism. Worked with the CIA to drive the Soviets out of Afghanistan. Opposed American interests in the Persian Gulf.OBLs Declaration of WarIdeological Aims of Al-Qaida Ideologically want to cleanse the Islamic world of secular influences. Radicalize existing Islamic groups. Destroy the United States. Support Muslim fighters in Afghanistan, Chechnya, Bosnia, Kosovo, Philippines, Tajikistan, and other places throughout the world.A Different Kind of Foe He uses the media to play to the man on the street. Via Al Jazeera. He appears to the Muslim world a hero fighting the Great Satan. He plays to the disadvantaged in the Middle East.Use Psyops against the TalibanWhy Did Our Intelligence Fail? Underestimated the terrorists. Too much noise. Refused to take the threat seriously. Assumed that the U.S.A was invulnerable to attack. Aversion to intelligence agencies and methods and means of collection.Why Did the Terrorists Succeed? Planned the operation for two to three years. Realized the lax security measures at airports and on commercial jets. Scoped out the US and realized that the Heart of the Beast was vulnerable to attack. Willing to Die for the cause.
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