Unlike the French Monarchy and First Republic that stirred class divisions in an
effort to eliminate opposition, the Sultan held an open court and made efforts to have
opponents beholden to him through the granting of not only titles but permission and
religious legitimacy for conquest. Sadly, the book lacks details of the Ottoman Sultan's
court, his relationship to his ministers, and does not delve into the important pillar of
power in the empire, the religious body known as the Ulema. I would have liked
more on the harsh treatment of non-Turks, a practice system that in later years made
many Arabs feel like second-class citizens and led to the Arab revolts in World War I.
Middle-East FAOs will nonetheless find this an interesting read, and devoting time to
the study of the Ottoman system is always important in gaining a truer insight into the
region.
Ataturk: A Biography of Mustafa Kemal, Father of Modern Turkey, by
Lord Kinross. William Morrow Books, New York. Paperback edition. 615 pages, 1964.
FAOs wishing to understand the Turkish Republic and its modern history cannot
do better than two quintessential books written by Lord Patrick Kinross. His first book,
Ottoman Centuries, is a gripping and scholarly account of the rise and fall of the
Ottoman Empire. His second book, the subject of this review, is about Mustafa Kemal
Ataturk, a neglected figure as we celebrate the year 2000. Ataturk is a nom d' guerre
meaning Father of the Turks. Ataturk's biography is a story of dictatorial powers used
for the sole purpose of reforming and creating the modern state of Turkey. Even my
Turkish acquaintances point to the books of Lord Kinross as the finest English versions
of their history. The book's sixty short chapters highlight the education of Kemal as an
officer and his service in the Balkan, North African and Gallipoli operations. He was a
highly competent military officer and, when he became President of Turkey, showed a
disdain for Mussolini as an actor in military clothing.
Ataturk's involvement with politics came early and although he was an obscure
figure in the Young Turk Revolution he would begin a gradual rise during the aftermath
of World War I. The author credits Ottoman Turkey's alliance with the Kaiser as a price
paid for requesting German military advisors and equipment. Kemal realized that the
Ottoman provinces were a drain on Turkey and began a quest to consolidate Turkish
possessions around the Anatolia Plain (Asia Minor). His ruthlessness in eliminating
opposition included ending the Sultanate, exiling Sultan Abd-al-Mejid to Switzerland,
and declaring a new Republic in 1923. Assuming dictatorial power he began to reform
Turkey's language, dress code, emancipation of women and laws. His dream was a
Turkey sovereign and powerful, but he took great pains to reassure friend and foe that
Ottoman territorial ambitions had ended. However, he would not give an inch on
Turkey's current borders.
Ataturk died in November 1938 and he must be ranked among the most influential
persons of the twentieth century. In the Middle-East he is either revered or despised,
some hold him as a great reformer and others a destroyer of Islamic tradition in Turkey.
Whatever your opinion, Lord Kinross' book is required reading for Mid-East FAOs.
The Untold History of Israel by Jacques Derogi and Carmel Hesi. Grove
Press, Random House, New York. 338 pages, 1979.
Derogy and Hesi first published this book in French before it was translated into
English. Both wrote for the French magazine L'Express and covered conflicts in
Israel for many years. The book highlights the more interesting operations and political
gambits conducted by Aman (Israeli Armed Forces Intelligence Service), Mossad
(Israel's Secret Service) and the Israeli Defense Forces. These organizations did not
have a glamorous start The 1955 Lavon Affair, named after the Israeli Prime Minister
Pinchas Lavon, describes how a young Israeli agent who was carrying explosives, had
his pants catch fire in front of an Egyptian movie theater. This quite literally blew the lid
off a plan to destabilize Egyptian President Nasser's regime while the negotiations for
the withdrawal of British Forces from the Suez Canal commenced. From there the
author describes how Israel dealt with a proliferation of German rocket scientists
working in Egypt to develop missile technology and delivery systems. An entire chapter
deals with how the Mossad brought Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann to justice and
how an Iraqi pilot was courted to fly his Russian MIG-21 jet fighter into Israeli hands.
As terrorism began to increase, the authors discuss how Jordan's King Hussein almost
lost his throne to Palestinian radicals in September 1970. Israel would figure
prominently in stemming this crisis which involved Syria sending hundreds of tanks into
Jordanian territory to take advantage of the weakness of King Hussein.
The book also shows how events make for interesting bed-fellows. In 1970,
Anwar Sadat took power and in one year his own head of intelligence and Minister of
Interior would threaten his authority, even bugging his presidential palace and passing
information to the Kremlin. The Israelis fearing that pro-Communist radicals might take
over in Cairo and threaten their security, chose to provide Sadat with information
leading to their arrest. The Untold History of Israel makes for interesting reading
and at times takes on a quality of an Ian Fleming novel, proving once again that in the
Mid-East, the truth is often stranger than fiction.
2000, Foreign Area Officer Association
Springfield,
Virginia
Maintained by LTC Steve
Gotowicki.
http://www.faoa.org
