The War That Fisk Sees, review.

[HysteryDiagnosis]

More at link: http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/features/story.jsp?story=668889

The war that Fisk sees
The Great War For Civilisation:
The Conquest of the Middle East,
by Robert Fisk,Fourth Estate

Review by Tom Galvin

11 November 2005

And what we learn quickly from Fisk is that while we are looking for immediate results by going to “war against terrorism” and hoping for a quick fix, those who are against us are prepared to suffer for generations for their cause.

While in Iran during the Islamic Revolution in 1979, Fisk wondered about their capacity for both cruelty and sensitivity, sudden anger and long periods of passivity, and above all their resolve to struggle for a lifetime against adversity. In response he quoted an Arab politician who used a simple example of the time they would spend weaving their carpets to perfection.

“Imagine that one carpet, worked on by scores of people, takes about 10 years to complete. A people who spend years in manufacturing just a single carpet will wait many more years to achieve victory in war. Do not take lightly the perseverance of the Iranians.” By the time the book comes to an end Fisk is of course in modern-day, war-ravaged Iraq and things are looking grim. But the analogy is equally if not more applicable.

We’re in a hole over there. At 1,200-odd pages this book carries the weight of a headstone, and the dead, maimed and tortured fall out of every page. Fisk makes it easier going than it should be because he has that rare gift of making his writing so accessible. Bleak as the subject matter may be, this is a necessary and urgent read for the times we live in.

[leftchick]

1. I just found it on Amazon

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1400041511/102-3728358-7033714?v=glance

One Review...

I'm close to halfway through this title. Although the page count is somewhat daunting, I have never picked it up and not become immediately engrossed.

Not a book for the faint-of-heart, as it describes many war scenes and tales of torture and mayhem. Perhaps the strongest parts of the book are when Fisk reports from his personal experiences in the Middle East. The writing is always superb, and my admiration for the writer grows by the page.


....This is surely a must read. Thank you for posting the review. I can't wait to read it.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

2. We manufacture a carpet in 24.6 seconds.

Next.


"What? It's not over?"

[HysteryDiagnosis]

3. We've wove worrisome webs and tainted tapestries of diabolical

deceit, now the pieces of shattered lives lie at gw's feet, to make war on the causes of terror, would worlds away from his present error.