A real history lesson

brett — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 11:50:42 +0200

At the moment I'm reading my way through The Great War for Civilisation -- the Conquest of the Middle East, by Robert Fisk. Fisk has been covering the Middle East since the 1970s and is one of the best and most knowledgeable journalists writing about that region.

The book does not focus primarily on Israel, as the title might leave some to believe. I'm about a quarter of the way through the 1200-odd pages, and so far it's mostly about Afghanistan, Iran and Iraq. And it's completely fascinating, though very disturbing. It's mostly about conflict and war, and the story it tells is harrowing and at times full of very gruesome images.

But it's a real education. Fisk really goes into the background and origins of the conflicts we are witnessing today and provides some sorely needed historical perspective. The history of the US's involvement in Iran and Iraq, for example, is hardly ever reflected in contemporary news reports on the region. Fisk's reminders of how the US backed and armed Saddam Hussein, even when he was using chemical weapons and gassing thousands of people, and the account of how Donald Rumsfeld shook Saddam's hand during a visit to Baghdad in 1983, are sobering.

But let me get back to my point. This history is largely un-reported and one really has to make an effort to find out what really went on. I often watch the History Channel on TV, and there are endless documentaries on World War II, but I've never seen anything on the Iran-Iraq war in the 80s for example. This was a major conflict that went on for 8 years, initiated by Saddam, and cost millions of lives.

Today, this problem continues. There have been fascinating events in Iran recently, with the protests against the election outcome. But it's been really under-reported on the major international networks. Yes there has been news coverage but it hasn't been very in-depth, and in fact many bloggers have criticised the likes of CNN for not focusing enough on these events. Once again the power of new media is being demonstrated as the world learns what is going on through blogs and through Twitter.