Mr. Robert Fisk (a British Middle East correspondent, writer
and journalist for The Independent for over thirty years) writes that books—much
media, in fact—are heavily censored in many Arabic countries. Recent examples of especially Western authors
with death bounties because of their writings come to mind in the extreme. But Fisk also suggests that in Damascus a
special library exists for academics, party officials, intellectuals, etc.
which holds otherwise banned books.
Understand that there are amazingly wonderful libraries throughout the Middle East which contain new books, antiquities and other holdings—all mostly in pristine condition because going to libraries (or reading as a pastime) is not a cultural tradition in the Middle East. An untouched, notable holding in one of them by a chap named Miles Copeland and titled The Game of Nations: The Amorality of Power Politics (published 1970). It describes how the USA was involved in assisting the first of the military coups in Syria in the 1950's.
Understand that there are amazingly wonderful libraries throughout the Middle East which contain new books, antiquities and other holdings—all mostly in pristine condition because going to libraries (or reading as a pastime) is not a cultural tradition in the Middle East. An untouched, notable holding in one of them by a chap named Miles Copeland and titled The Game of Nations: The Amorality of Power Politics (published 1970). It describes how the USA was involved in assisting the first of the military coups in Syria in the 1950's.
Mr. Copeland, by the way, is a very seasoned operative. He
writes with the straight-forward attitude because he doesn't care anymore. He
tells about the many misguided U.S. policies without anger or prejudice. He
doesn't try to draw grand moral lessons, but shows how intentions and hopes of
U.S. leaders ignored the realities and possibilities of their Arab counterparts. By the way, Copeland’s career is much longer than
the stout binding of his book and deserves attention from Hollywood producers. It can make the best of the best-sellers yet offered in a long line
of American covert operation stories.
By cross-referencing
that point, a book called Arab Politics,
The Search for Legitimacy by Michael C. Hudson (published 1979) comes
up. ''In post-independent Syria, the
United States helped destabilize the parliamentary nationalist civilian
government, which was thought to be dangerously weak and thus open to
penetration by others, and initiate the first of the long cycle of
military-reformist coups.”
Which eventually ended in the military-reformist coup led by the father of the current President of Syria.
In other words, we (the USA) started the mess in Syria the first place…
Which eventually ended in the military-reformist coup led by the father of the current President of Syria.
In other words, we (the USA) started the mess in Syria the first place…
