The Great War for Civilisation

by Robert Fisk

  144 “Is it not for the benefit”: Hansard, Commons, vol. 127, cols. 662–4, 25 March 1920.

  145 “local political agitation”: Attiyah, p. 203.

  145 “We cannot maintain”: Ibid., p. 211, quoting NA FO371/5227/E6509.

  145 The authorities demanded: Ibid., p. 230.

  145 “Badr must be killed”: Ibid., p. 249, quoting Iraqi Ministry of Interior document, Nasiriyah, April and May 1919.

  145 “anarchy plus fanaticism”: John Darwin, Britain, Egypt and the Middle East: Imperial Policyin the Aftermath of War, 1918–1922 (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1981), quoted by Fromkin, A Peace to End All Peace, p. 453.

  145 “heavy punishment”: Attiyah, p. 343.

  145 “to complete the façade”: Ibid., p. 362.

  145 “How much longer”: Quoted in Fromkin, p. 452.

  145 “about ten thousand Arabs”: The Letters of T. E. Lawrence , ed. David Garnett (London: Jonathan Cape, 1938), p. 316, quoted in Fromkin, p. 497.

  (n.) 145 “in Irak the Arabs”: T. E. Laurence [sic], memorandum Reconstruction of Arabia to the Eastern Committee of the War Cabinet, 5 November 1918, National Archives CAB 27/36.

  146 at least eight pilots: Clive Semple, unpublished MS, “Eight Graves to Cairo: Calamity and Cover-up,” 2004, p. 4.

  146 “you should certainly proceed”: Churchill note to Trenchard, 29 August 1920. Winston S. Churchill 1917–1922 Companion Volume IV by Martin Gilbert (London: Heinemann, 1977), p. 1190.

  146 “that by burning down”: Dudley Saward, “Bomber” Harris: The Authorised Biography (London: Cassell, 1984), p. 31.

  146 “they [the Arabs and Kurds] now know”: A. and P. Cockburn, Out of the Ashes, p. 65, quoting David McDowall, A Modern History of the Kurds (London: I. B. Tauris, 1997), p. 180.

  146 “these risings take”: Observer, 8 August 1920.

  146 But Lawrence had: Letter to the author from Peter Metcalfe, 22 June 2004.

  146 “The Arabs rebelled”: Garnett, Letters of T. E. Lawrence , op. cit., pp. 306–8, letter to The Times of 22 July 1920.

  147 “The people of England”: Sunday Times, 22 August 1920.

  147 “maintain the policy”: Observer, 10 February 1991, by David Omissi, “RAF officer who resigned rather than bomb Iraq.”

  148 British forces paused: Warner, Iraq and Syria, p. 117.

  (n.) 148 “The Arab liberation movement”: Quoted in Warner, p. 113.

  (n.) 153 Mesopotamia had been the seat: Popovic, Revolt of African Slaves , p. 124.

  159 And there he suddenly ended: A poor English translation of Saddam’s Baghdad press conference of 20/21 July 1980 was carried in the Baghdad Observer of 23 and 24 July 1980— but without his remarks on the expulsions.

  160 It was one of Stalin’s biographers: Simon Sebag Montefiore in International Herald Tribune, 3 July 2004, “A disciple of Stalin in the dock.”

  160 “the perfume of Iraq”: Quoted by David Hirst in the Guardian, 24 September 1980, “The megalomaniac pitted against the zealot.”

  166 “Iraqis who fail”: 8 Days, 1 March 1980, “Iraq drive to eradicate illiteracy” by Marion Woolfson.

  166 “An enormous potential market”: Sunday Press, Dublin, 27 March 1977, “Land of the leftist sheikhs,” by Sean Cryan.

  (n.) 167 “think we have to assume”: Author’s message to Barnes, 7 May 1980.

  168 “justify their action”: Hansard, Lords, 14 December 1989, cols. 1397–8.

  168 “I doubt if there is any”: Waldegrave memo quoted in the Guardian, 13 September 1993, “Sell arms to Iraq—but keep it quiet: The Scott inquiry is exposing a system corrupted by secrecy,” by Richard Norton-Taylor.

  169 “it would look very cynical”: Norton-Taylor report in the Guardian, 13 March 1993.

  169 “Tell Dee I’m sorry”: Daphne Parish, Prisoner in Baghdad (London: Chapmans, 1992), pp. 124–31.

  170 “another visit by Mr. Fisk”: Letter from Dr. Abdul Amir Al-Anbari, Iraqi ambassador in London, 21 February 1986, to Pat Davis, assistant managing editor of The Times.

  (n.) 170 “were extremely upset”: Alloway message from Tehran to Barnes, 7 August 1980.

  (n.) 172 “tried to attack Bakhtiar’s”: Author’s interview with Anis Naccache, Tehran, 22 October 1991.

  (n.) 172–3 “setting the scene”: Abul-Fazl Ezzati, The Revolutionary Islam and the Islamic Revolution (Tehran: Ministry of Islamic Guidance, 1981), p. 195.

  173 “It would be strange”: The full text of Khomeini’s message can be found in the English-language Tehran Times of 8 April 1982.

  173 Among them were ten young women: Observer, 26 June 1983, “Bahai women die for their faith,” by Colin Smith.

  174 On one night, 150 women: Observer, 6 May 1984, “Inside Khomeini’s slaughterhouse,” by Colin Smith.

  174 Iranian state radio recorded: Iran Monitor (news translations from Iran radio and the Persian Press), 4 July 1980. The Times stringer Tony Alloway produced this invaluable daily digest of revolutionary activities for well over a year after the overthrow of the Shah.

  174 Amnesty recorded the evidence: Amnesty International’s written statement on human rights in Iran to the Political Affairs Committee of the European Parliament, 28 November 1985.

  174 A frightening nine-page pamphlet: The English-language booklet was handed out by Ministry of Islamic Guidance officials in 1979 under the title The People and the Revolutionary Courts. The author has a copy.

  174 Khomeini raged: Khomeini, Last Message.

  175 Human Rights Watch was reporting: Human Rights Watch, Tears, Blood and Cries: Human Rights in Afghanistan 1979–1984, a Helsinki Watch Report, December 1984, pp. 5, 9, and 35.

  176 As long ago as October 1979: This assessment and the Yazdi remarks and U.S. assessment of Saddam’s intentions come from vols. 10 and 12 of the U.S. embassy traffic published in Tehran.

  176 Back in 1978, the Shah: Sunday Times, 16 April 1978, interview with Frank Giles.

  178 The Iraqi Foreign Ministry: The Iraqi–Iranian Dispute: Facts versus Allegations (Baghdad: Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 1981).

  178 “null and void”: An unconvincing explanation for Iraq’s decision was contained in Iraqi prime minister Tariq Aziz’s speech to the UN General Assembly on 25 September 1987.

  178 “When we arrived”: Interview with Fathi Daoud Mouffak, Baghdad, 30 July 2004.

  Chapter Six: “The Whirlwind War”

  198 “knew something was happening”: Author’s conversation at home of U.S. ambassador to Jordan Richard Viets with former U.S. chargé in Tehran Bruce Laingen (then head of U.S. War College), Amman, 17 April 1983.

  199 “Suppose you were an inveterate enemy”: Ayatollah Khomeini, 1 July 1981, quoted in full in Mahjoubah: The Magazine for Muslim Women , Tehran: Ministry of Islamic Guidance, July 1981.

  199 One estimate—that 10,000 suspects were hanged or shot: Bullock & Morris, Gulf War, p. 67, quoting Iranian sociologist Ehsan Naraghi.

  206 An official history of the Guard Corps: Although carrying no publisher’s imprint, the 8-page brochure was distributed by the Ministry of Islamic Guidance in Tehran around 1984 under the title Islamic Revolution Guard Corps; A Brief Analysis.

  207 “ . . . doors suddenly opened”: Frederic Manning (Private 19022), Her Privates We, introduction by Edmund Blunden (London: Peter Davies, 1964), p. 154.

  207 Egyptian-made heavy artillery shells: Author’s interview with retired General Mohamed Abdul Moneim, military affairs correspondent of Al-Ahram, Cairo, 2 June 1982.

  207 the Iraqis held an arms fair: Author’s interview with Mohamed Salam, Sidon, Lebanon, 1 November 2003.

  207 a U.S. military delegation: Author’s interview with Mohamed Salam, Baghdad, 21 July 1985.

  208 “There had been a major battle”: Salam interview, 1 November 2003.

  209 Iran’s own official history: The Imposed War (Tehran: War Information Headquarters), vol. 2, pp. 163–94. A misprint on p. 164 gives the date of the first gas attack as 1980 rather than
1981.

  210 “United States intelligence analysts”: New York Times , 27 March 1985, quoted in The Times of London of the same date, “Iraq’s use of mustard gas confirmed.”

  211 “I was invited”: Salam interview, 1 November 2003.

  213 More than sixty officers: International Herald Tribune, 19 August 2002, quoting The New York Times, report by Patrick Tyler, “U.S. aided Iraq in ’80s despite gas use, officials say.”

  214 “By any measure, the American record”: International Herald Tribune, 17 January 2003, “America didn’t seem to mind poison gas,” by Joost R. Hilterman.

  214 Halabja was mentioned in 188 news stories: Rampton and Stauber, Weapons of Mass Deception, p. 76.

  214 “is a person who has gassed”: George W. Bush address, Denver, Colorado, 28 October 2002.

  214 “We have had such a malicious”: Rafsanjani press conference, Tehran, 25 May 1997 (author’s notes).

  Chapter Seven: “War against War” and the Fast Train to Paradise

  219 the first Exocet spewed 120 pounds: Navy Times, 26 October 1987, “Inferno The Like of Which Had Never Been Experienced,” by William Matthews.

  220 “Rest assured”: Associated Press report from Washington, 22 May 1987.

  (n.) 220 “we never before had reason”: Author’s interview with Ambassador Zakhem, U.S. embassy, Bahrain, 26 May 1987.

  221 “this barbarous country”: Reagan press conference, 27 May 1987.

  222 227 ships had been attacked: Gulf shipping agents could never agree on exact figures, but these statistics, which appear the most accurate, are from Intertanko of Oslo.

  222 Between May 1981: Lloyd’s Intelligence, London, May 1987.

  222 “The incident provided”: Dispatch to The Times from Bahrain, sent 28 May 1987.

  228 By 1986 alone, a million: Associated Press, 12 March 1986, “Up to a Million Dead, No End in Sight,” by G. G. Labelle.

  230 In July, Iraq began: Washington Post, 13 September 1985, quoted in Reuters Washington datelined report of the same date.

  (n.) 234 James Cameron, one of my great: Cameron, Point of Departure , p. 139.

  Chapter Eight: Drinking the Poisoned Chalice

  264 “marked the horrifying climax”: See Proceedings, journal of the U.S. Naval Institute, August 1993, vol. 119/8/1,086, pp. 49–56, “Vincennes: A Case Study,” by Lieutenant Colonel David Evans.

  264 “Why do you want an Aegis cruiser”: Evans in Proceedings , op. cit., p. 52, quoting a personal interview with Captain David Carlson on 23 June 1992.

  264 “was on a normal commercial”: Formal Investigation into the Circumstances Surrounding the Downing of a Commercial Airliner by the USS Vincennes by Rear Admiral William M. Fogarty, USN, 28 July 1988.

  264 Newsweek magazine would carry out: Newsweek, 13 July 1992, “Sea of Lies,” by John Barry and Roger Charles.

  267 “He was turned into the powder”: Will and Sharon Rogers, Storm Center: The USS Vincennes and Iran Air Flight 655 (Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1992), pp. 184–6.

  271 Half the next issue: Sunday Tribune (Dublin), 10 July 1988.

  272 Captain Rogers saw the film again: Rogers, Storm Center, op. cit., p. 188.

  274 “As to your order to execute the hypocrites”: Quoted in Iran Bulletin (London),Winter 1996, pp. 26–9, “The Great Massacre,” by Naser Mohajer.

  274 “When [they] are taken to the Hosseinieh”: Quoted in Iran Bulletin, Winter 1996, op. cit., p. 28.

  274 A former female prisoner: Iran Bulletin, Autumn/Winter 1998, interview with Monireh Baradaran, “Witness to Massacre.” Baradaran’s account of her nine years in the regime’s prisons was published in Farsi as Haghighat-e sadeh—“Simple truth”—and in German as Erwachen aus dem Alptraum (Unionsverlag, 1998).

  274 This was Fariba’s description: Iran Bulletin, Summer 2000, p. 62, from an abridged translation of Here Virgins Do Not Die by “Shahrzad” (Paris: Khavaran, 1998).

  275 Of 1,533 Iranian female prisoners: Iran Bulletin, Spring/Summer 1999, pp. 40–3, “The life and death of women in Islamic prisons,” by Dr. Rehza Ghaffari. His Khaterateh Yek ZendaniAs Zendanhaye Jumhouriye Islam—“Memories of a prisoner of prisons of the Islamic Republic”—was published in Farsi (Stockholm: Arshag Forlag, 1998).

  275 Amnesty was able to list: Amnesty International report on Iraqi executions, 25 February 1988.

  276 at least 700 prisoners: Committee against Repression and for Democratic Rights in Iraq (CARDRI), press release, 2 March 1988.

  276 When Khadum Fadel returned: Agence France-Presse report by Tanya Wilmer, published in Jordan Times, 6 February 1999.

  281 “I doubt whether I would be inaccurate”: Letter from Zainab Kazim, 1996 (otherwise undated), following the author’s article in the Independent on Sunday Review, 25 June 1995, “Oh What a Lovely Holy War.”

  289 “Some magnificent men”: Letter to author from Robert Parry, 4 October 2004.

  290 “One of our soldiers”: Interview with Haidar al-Safi, Baghdad, 28 July 2004.

  291 “We would go to the headquarters”: Mouffak interview, Baghdad, 30 July 2004.

  Chapter Nine: “Sentenced to Suffer Death”

  300 the war diaries: National Archives, Kew, WO95/2126.

  304 I had spent more than two years: See Fisk, Pity the Nation, pp. 632–49.

  (n.) 307 The politics of partition: These statistics come from Henry Harris, The Irish Regiments of the First World War (Cork: Mercier, 1968), pp. 219–21. In all: see “The Irish Times, An Irishman’s Diary,” by Oliver Fannon, Irish Times, 6 September 2004.

  308 “He was like one of those revolving lighthouses”: War Memoirs of David Lloyd George (London: Odhams, 1936), vol. I, p. 450.

  Chapter Ten: The First Holocaust

  320 “it may well be that the British attack”: Winston Churchill, The World Crisis: The Aftermath (London: Thornton Butterworth, 1927), p. 405.

  322 “Reports from widely scattered districts”: Cipher telegram from Morgenthau to the U.S. State Department, 10 July 1915, reprinted in United States Official Records on the ArmenianGenocide 1915–1917 (compiled with introduction by Ara Sarafian, Princeton: Gomidas Institute, 2004), p. 51.

  324 Armenian scholars have compiled: See, for example, the Armenian National Institute’s annual report for 1998, pp. 9–10.

  325 “machinery of violence”: Mark Mazower in the London Review of Books, 8 February 2001, p. 20, “The G-Word.”

  325 700 pages of eyewitness accounts: The Treatment of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire: Documents Presented to Viscount Grey of Fallodon by Viscount Bryce (London: House of Lords, 2004). This new edition contains names and other identifying details that were omitted from the original publication to protect eyewitnesses from Turkish reprisals.

  325 Leslie Davis, the thirty-eight-year-old former lawyer: Balakian, Burning Tigris, pp. 241–9.

  326 The Germans were also involved in building: Ibid., p. 191.

  326 From the start, the New York Times: See The Armenian Genocide: News Accounts from the American Press 1915–1922, ed. Richard D. Kloian (American Genocide Resource Center of Northern California, 2000).

  327 Even in the Canadian city of Halifax: See Heralding of the Armenian Genocide: Reports in The Halifax Herald 1894–1922, compiled by Katia Minas Pettekian (Armenian Cultural Association of the Atlantic Provinces, 2000).

  327 In the former Ottoman city of Basra: H. V. F. Winstone, Gertrude Bell (London: Barzon Publishing, 2004), pp. 276–7.

  327 a group of more than 1,000 women: United States Official Records of the Armenian Genocide, p. 587.

  328 a long account written by Cyril Barter: Barter’s “account of experiences during the war, written from Baghdad in 1919” was sent to me by his son Antony, 23 June 2004.

  328 “The butchery had taken place”: E. H. Jones, The Road to En-Dor (London: White Lion Publishers, 1973; originally published London: Bodley Head, 1920), p. 83.

  328 “My father, Sarkis”: Letter to the author from Ellen Sarki
sian Chesnut of San Francisco, 23 February 2000.

  329 The first writer to call the Armenian genocide: Churchill, The World Crisis: The Aftermath, op. cit., p. 157.

  329 “Acknowledging that British and American”: Churchill, Great War, vol. 4, p. 1570.

  329 Franz von Papen, for example: See Vahakn Dadrian, “The Historical and Legal Interconnections Between the Armenian Genocide and the Jewish Holocaust: From Impunity to Retributive Justice,” in The Yale Journal of International Law, Summer 1998, vol. 23, no. 2, pp. 504–59. Dadrian erroneously refers to Rudolf Hoess as “Rudolf Hess.”

  330 And there came another fateful reference: Gilbert, Holocaust, p. 556, quoting German notes of Hitler’s discussion with Horthy on 17 April 1943 (document D-736 in the files of the Nuremberg International Military Tribunal).

  330 Some Armenian slave labourers: See Mark Levene’s The Experience of Genocide in Lightning Strikes Twice: The World War 1914–1945 (London: HarperCollins, 2000). Levene’s note on the Baghdad railway appears on p. 16 of his original manuscript.

  (n.) 330 At a conference in Beirut: A series of talks on The First World War as Remembered in the Countries of the Eastern Mediterranean was held in the Lebanese capital from 27 April to 1 May 2001; see Daily Star , Beirut, 4 May 2001.

  331 A Turkish military tribunal: See AIM: Armenian International Magazine, January/February 2001, pp. 26–33, “A Century of Genocide,” by Matthew Karanian.

  331 He lectured across Germany in 1933: See Dadrian, History of the Armenian Genocide, p. 410.

  331 In 1933, the same year: Churchill, Great War, vol. 4, p. 1570.

  332 Of the Treaty of Lausanne: Ibid., p. 1571.

  333 Lord Bryce, whose report: James Bryce, International Relations: Eight lectures delivered in the United States in August, 1921 (London: Macmillan, 1922), pp. 65–71.

  336 Mark Levene has written extensively: See Levene’s “A Moving Target, the Usual Suspects and (Maybe) a Smoking Gun: The Problem of Pinning Blame in Modern Genocide,” in Patterns of Prejudice, vol. 33, no. 4, 1999, citing R. S. Stafford, The Tragedy of the Assyrians (London: Allen and Unwin, 1935), pp. 168–77.

  336 After writing about the Armenian Holocaust: Letter to the author from A. V. Ozolinš, 2 February 2000.