Book review: ‘The Great War for Civilisation’

The 1,000-page manuscript begins with acknowledgments, a list of maps, a preface and the first chapter, titled “One of Our Brothers Had a Dream…” There are a total of 24 chapters that are filled with anecdotes as well as significant data. The writing style is informal and friendly. The first line of the first chapter is: “I knew it would be like this.” (p. 3) He carries this type of informal rhetoric throughout the work, making it very readable and enjoyable, even for those who may not be interested in the subject matter. This very well-written account will draw in even the most reluctant reader.

Extraordinary insights

His insights are extraordinary. For example, he writes: “There was something new getting loose here. Condemning Israel was standard fare for any Arab nationalist, let alone a man who believed he was participating in an Islamic jihad. But bin Laden was now combining America and Israel as a single country…” (p. 31) But the author delves further into the past. This is not a book on recent history, or a post-Sept. 11 world, but rather one that encounters the actions of the United States during the 1970s and 1980s. Fisk does not paint a complimentary portrait of America, but his points are well taken. Fisk seems to be somewhat objective, as a journalist should be.

The most important parts of the work delve into the traditional Middle Eastern problems. This is really nothing new, but Fisk does to some extent put his slant on things, despite the fact that many of the facts are objectively reported. Conflict in the Middle East is a given, so again, Fisk is not addressing a new topic nor does he add a view that is in conflict with accepted facts. This is a much-discussed subject in the news and is of historical significance as well. There has always been conflict between a variety of nations, but the most notorious is the rift between Israel and Palestine. Although there is disagreement, there is also the idea that the fighting is largely about religion and oil. While Fisk perhaps does not say this outright, he makes note that a significant portion of the oil in the Middle East is found underneath land on which Shiite Muslims live. Indeed, there is a sense that religion and oil are important here.

The work cannot be adequately summarized because of its length and the fact that the author often goes off on tangents and investigates certain matters in depth. At the same time, one can say that despite the length of this book, the author only focuses on a period of about 25 years’ time. With such information, one can get a sense of how and why things have unfolded in the way they have. The work helps one make sense of the problems in the Middle East, but also provides insights on why Sept. 11 occurred. While the book is replete with facts, and the interviews with bin Laden are certainly worthwhile, the author is rather critical of most every move that is made by the West.

From the book, we learn that Fisk is one of the few Western journalists to have interviewed bin Laden. During one of Fisk’s interviews with Bin Laden, Fisk noted an attempt by bin Laden to convert him to Islam. Bin Laden said: “Mr. Robert, one of our brothers had a dream. He dreamed … that you were a spiritual person … This means you are a true Muslim.” Fisk replied: “Sheikh Osama, I am not a Muslim. I am a journalist. And the job of a journalist is to tell the truth.” Bin Laden replied, “If you tell the truth, that means you are a good Muslim.” (p. 29)

I should also note that much of Fisk’s book is devoted to the Arab-Israeli conflict. Ethan Bronner, The New York Times’ Jerusalem bureau chief, has written in The New York Times that Fisk is “most passionate and least informed about Israel.”

I don’t agree that Fisk is passionate about Israel, and I would certainly not say he is uninformed at all. As Peter Bridges wrote for the California Literary Review, Fisk “reminds us that terrorism can be hard to define; that in the days when they were fighting to establish a Jewish state, the Haganah, Irgun, and the Stern gang blew up the King David Hotel in Jerusalem, hanged two British army hostages, and assassinated the British envoy in Cairo.”

“There is a fierce irony in all this. Israel came into being after a classic colonial guerilla war against an occupation army; yet within fifty years, Israel’s own army -- now itself the occupation force -- would be fighting an equally classic anti-colonial guerilla war in the West Bank and Gaza.” (p. 374) As Bridges recalled, even though Fisk doesn’t mention in his book, they also blew up the British Embassy in Rome on Oct. 1, 1946, for which Irgun claimed responsibility.

I should also remind my readers that The Electronic Intifada revealed that Bronner’s son has been inducted into the Israeli army, which exemplifies a much more biased and passionate situation than that of Fisk.

Palatable to average reader

His ability to take factual information and weave it in a manner so it is palatable to the average reader is remarkable. This very well-written book may spark controversy, but it will more likely than not open a door for someone who has been on one side of the argument or another. This is a highly recommended volume because of its informative nature and in-depth reporting.

As he writes in his introduction, referring to his initial posting with the Times in 1976: “I was twenty-nine and I was being offered the Middle East. I wondered how King Feisal felt when he was ‘offered’ Iraq or how his brother Abdullah reacted to Winston Churchill’s ‘offer’ of Transjordan.” All of us are addicted to something. Fisk is absolutely addicted to the Middle East.