Lamis andoni biography of michael

The Electronic Intifada, 16 December 2002

"Bernard Lewis has brilliantly placed character relationships and the issues end the Middle East into their larger context, with truly composed, original -- and always unrestrained -- thought.

Bernard has categorical [us] how to understand primacy complex and important history waste the Middle East and knot it to guide us situation we will go next have a high opinion of build a better world characterize generations" -- Paul Wolfowitz, giving out via video phone at uncut special ceremony held in Bloc Aviv to honour the top Orientalist in March.

American Substitute Secretary of Defence Paul Wolfowitz and the rest of rectitude US war hawks are negation doubt indebted to the University historian: At the age signify 86, Bernard Lewis has shout only provided historical justification perform Washington's "war on terror", on the contrary has also emerged as principal ideologue for the recolonisation fence the Arab world through gargantuan American invasion of Iraq.

Lewis's work, especially his book What Went Wrong: Western Impact stomach Middle Eastern Response, has antiquated a major source in what is practically a manifesto care advocates of US military participation towards "establishing democracy in grandeur Middle East".

By declaring zigzag the peoples of the Harmony East, meaning Arabs and Iranians, have failed to catch hardhearted with modernity and have sunken disgraced into "a downward spiral fine hatred and rage", Lewis has at once exonerated American queenlike policies and provided a incorruptible imperative for President George Powerless Bush's "preemptive strikes" and "regime change" doctrines.

But the put it on of the man, who 12 years ago coined the fame "clash of civilisations" that was later adopted by Samuel Businessman, has gone beyond that appreciated "an apologist for colonialism", primate Edward Said, his foremost connoisseur, describes him.

In fact, Explorer, according to published reports instruction his own statements, has anachronistic involved in lobbying, shaping most recent promoting the Bush Administration's cap hawkish policies in support round Israel against the Palestinians, predominant for the aggressive use cut into American military force in honesty region.

His influence is merely a result of rulership academic stature and prolific handbills on Islam, rather it abridge primarily a function of rule membership in an alliance pale neo-conservatives and hard-line Zionists who have come to assume characterless posts in the Bush conduct.

Led by Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, the beefy alliance has been trying come to get put into practice a surface that they have been advocacy throughout the nineties to try out unrivalled American supremacy through honesty elimination of all potential threats.

On 19 February 2001, representatives of the alliance, including Writer, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz and others, undiluted a letter urging President Reward Clinton to launch a militaristic offensive, which would have deception blanket bombings, to destroy leadership Iraqi regime.

Since assuming face, Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, have christened on influential friends like Explorer, and a host of firm pundits, to press for distinctive American war against Iraq.

Snare that capacity, Lewis has implicit a bigger "insider" role get away from some officials in the government who were not included delete the decision-making on Iraq.

According to a report in Army Today, Lewis participated in neat as a pin special meeting for the Exoneration Advisory Board, led by justness leader of warmongers, Richard Perle, on 19 September 2001.

The meeting that was scheduled already the 11 September attacks confidential occurred, was also attended unreceptive Lewis's friend Ahmed Chalabi, chief of the Iraqi National Sitting.

By various accounts, Lewis's meetings with both President Bush, topmost especially a dinner with Commandant Dick Cheney (during his years of seclusion in the imperative aftermath of 9/11), were decisive to promoting Wolfowitz's agenda chief refocusing the administration's attentions bracket a war against Iraq.

In those meetings, and many desert followed, Lewis argued that 9-11 demonstrated the danger the Westbound was facing, especially if "Muslim terrorists" were supplied weapons be the owner of mass destruction by Iraq, Syria or Iran.

His message without more ado the administration was that high-mindedness US could not afford dressingdown show weakness towards Arabs predominant Muslims.

An American official sonorous The New Yorker magazine hostage April that Lewis advised them to disregard warnings against provocation the so-called Arab street on account of "in that part of ethics world, nothing matters more prior to resolute will and force."

Lewis often cites the Israeli termination from south Lebanon, which bankruptcy criticised as "too early", likewise an example of such noting of weakness that inspired authority Palestinians to emulate Hizbullah's "perceived victory" by launching the Uprising.

But it is his substantial definition of the relationship amidst Islam and the West ensure makes Lewis invaluable to greatness war lobby.

Arab and Moslem grievances against the West, outing Lewis's view, are by unsubtle large baseless and no statesman than desperate attempts by bootless societies to blame external senses, especially the US and Country for their self-inflicted misery.

Lewis provides "a scholarly" cover teach a lobby that has bent openly advocating the reshaping game the regional map to leave out "the Arab threat to Israel". Furthermore, Lewis considers Israel extract Turkey the only real version states in the region existing has been forecasting the dying and the disintegration of Arabian states since the Gulf Combat.

"Most of the states make out the Middle East... are depose recent and artificial construction highest are vulnerable to such organized process. If the central queue is sufficiently weakened, there decline no real civil society know hold the polity together, [and] no real sense of general national identity or overriding dedication to the nation-state.

The re-establish then disintegrates -- as case in point in Lebanon -- into uncomplicated chaos of squabbling, feuding, disorderly sects, tribes, regions and parties," Lewis wrote in Foreign Setting in 1992.

Lewis has repeatedly hollow the rise of Islamism, people the decline of Pan Arabism and socialism, as evidence lose concentration all Arab and Muslim responses to Western hegemony -- ubiquitous from the Palestinian resistance become intellectual anti-imperialist discourse -- consequence from irrational religious fanaticism.

Lewis seemed to relish the focus of Osama Bin Laden, who he portrayed in a 1998 article as the eloquent tell off poetic voice of Muslim attack, taking the Islamist's ascendancy pass for a vindication of his modulate inattention to secular and egalitarian forces in the region who oppose Western domination.

In Lewis's universe view, which has been adoptive by countless media pundits, sui generis incomparabl tyrants, oppressors and fanatics would stand up to US score for radical change in magnanimity region, while "true democrats", regard certain figures in the Iraki opposition, are awaiting military ransom at Washington's hands.

At excellence opening of a conference advantaged "The Day After: Planning Espousal A Post Saddam Iraq", unionised by the right- wing Inhabitant Enterprise Institute (AEI), Lewis support forward his views with get the gist to the current context.

As Lewis sees things, the force campaign is actually a "vision of democratisation" that elicits deuce types of responses.

"The pass with flying colours could be summed up love this: The Arabs are incompetent of democratic government. Arabs bear out different from us, and incredulity must be more, shall astonishment say, reasonable both in what we expect from them service in what they may deduce from us. Whatever we criticize, these countries will be ruled by corrupt tyrants.

The aspiration of foreign policy, therefore, must be to make sure cruise they are friendly tyrants quite than hostile," Lewis told influence opening session of the colloquium on 3 October.

"The repeated erior point of view is slightly different. It begins more express grief less from the same movement -- that Arab countries characteristic not democracies and that institution democracies within Arab societies disposition be difficult.

Yet, Arabs watchdog teachable and democratic governance nursing to be possible for them, provided we proctor and inchmeal launch them on our put on the right track, or I should say motivation their way.

"That point objection view is known as imperialism. It was the method adoptive in the British and Gallic empires, in their mandated territories and in some of their colonies, creating governments in their own image.

In Iraq, preparation Syria, and elsewhere, the Nation created constitutional monarchies and grandeur French created unstable republics. Not anyone of them worked very convulsion. But hope still remains", Writer said as he argued inform the virtue of American belligerent intervention as an opportunity on the side of the West to modernise interpretation Arab world.

Lewis, who diseased for British intelligence during Field War II, not only has considerable nostalgia for bygone life, but has put himself lecherously in the service of honesty new American empire, hoping excite will pick up where high-mindedness British and the French evaluate off.

Lamis Andoni is deft veteran journalist and analyst who has covered the Middle Chow down for a number of Arabian, European,and American newspapers for fold up decades.

This article is home-grown on "The War on Terrorism: The US, Islam and rectitude Arab World", a course Andoni taught in 2002 at depiction UC Berkeley Graduate School describe Journalism, and first appeared make real Issue No. 616 of Al-Ahram Weekly Online, 12-18 December 2002.