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Lawrence in Arabia: War, Deceit, Imperial Folly, and the Making of the Modern Middle East

Book by Scott Anderson · 3 quotes · Arab Society, Bureaucracy, Careerism

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Lawrence in Arabia: War, Deceit, Imperial Folly, and the Making of the Modern Middle East Quotes

“Certainly, blame for all this [turmoil in the Middle East] doesn't rest solely with the terrible decisions that were made at the end of World War I, but it was then that one particularly toxic seed was planted. Ever since, Arab society has tended to define itself less by what it aspires to become than by what it is opposed to: colonialism, Zionism, Western imperialism in its many forms. This culture of opposition has been manipulated—indeed, feverishly nurtured—by generations of Arab dictators intent on channeling their people's anger away from their own misrule in favor of the external threat, whether it is "the great Satan" or the "illegitimate Zionist entity" or Western music playing on the streets of Cairo.”

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Book:Lawrence in Arabia: War, Deceit, Imperial Folly, and the Making of the Modern Middle East
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“From what the Oxford scholar [TE Lawrence] had seen, military culture was a world of hidebound careerists looking for a knighthood or their next medal, and of underlings loath to question the powerful, with countless thousands dying as a result.”

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Book:Lawrence in Arabia: War, Deceit, Imperial Folly, and the Making of the Modern Middle East
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“It was, of course, precisely this flippant attitude, one Lawrence seemed determined to flaunt both in his correspondence and in person, that so incensed his military superiors. But his defiance of soldierly protocol also underscored a deeper truth: Lawrence was fundamentally not of them, and was becoming less so all the time.”

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Book:Lawrence in Arabia: War, Deceit, Imperial Folly, and the Making of the Modern Middle East
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