Monday, May 25, 2009
In response to Charlie
In response to Charlie
The rivalry between France and Britain that had a huge impact in the Middle East before WWI had pretty much disappeared after the war. This is mainly because Britain and France had just fought on the same side in order to defeat the Germans, and now that they had supreme control over the Middle East, thanks to the destroyed Ottomans, there was no reason they couldn’t be happy each accepting half of the territory. Russia was a noteworthy participant in the rivalry consisting of Britain and France before WWI, and they also had a role in the Sykes-Picot agreement. Interestingly, the rivalry that had to some degree weakened between Britain and France remained strong with Russia. The fact that Russia was still at odds with Britain and France meant that the Middle East was only going to act as another battleground for the tension that existed between the two sides.
In response to Charlie
The story of the Russians recounted by Charlie in his post sheds important light on the future of European affair in the Middle East after WWI. First off, it shows Russia’s early ambitions in the area, which were still present at the time of the Sykes-Picot agreement. Russians have always been ones to see adjacent territory as their own, and the quest for a simple route between central Asia and Russia was very much alive well after the Khivans took advantage of them. On another note, this story also shows the consistent misunderstanding with which Europe has approached the Middle East. After WWI, when the Britain and France divided up the Middle East, the borders that were drawn showed a clear misunderstanding of the Middle East. The country of Iraq essentially included three different groups of people, Sunnis, Shiites, and Kurds (northern Iraq). This has turned in to a huge problem, because the borders that have been drawn are hard to change and have basically created concrete boundaries for people who don’t necessarily want to live next to each other. Along with that, there’s the British total miscalculation of Israel. No one knows how or why Britain thought Israel was going to work without resistance, given the fact that the British made two contradictory agreements. This is a common trend when it comes to Europeans and the Middle East, misunderstanding.
In response to Charlie
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
More on the Swedish Model
I agree that the purpose of any state is the security of its citizens, but at what price this comes at is determined by the different forms of government. In some cases a state’s security might come from financial burdens shouldered by its citizens. In other cases their might be a body burden (soldiers in the army) that is taken by the citizens. In some governments the citizens give up most of their basic rights in order to be protected. What is consistent in all these though is the fact that a government can’t provide security without asking some of its people. This seems obvious considering it takes resources to do anything (protection or otherwise), and a state’s people is its most important resource. The question is then do the people see what they’re doing as being a legitimate sacrifice, and this question is left in total doubt if there is no transparency within a government. If you enter the armed forces without knowing what you’re fighting for, the weight you shoulder hardly seems worth it. The same is true when it comes to what you’re fighting against. Had the
Sunday, May 17, 2009
In response to Cas' response to my Swedish Model post
The argument over whether the Swedish Model is already present in America, I think we can turn to the recent debate over the torture photos as an obvious example of a government doing things wrong. The only reason that the US would not want the torture photos, let alone the fact that they were (and probably are) torturing people, getting out into the rest of the world is that it would compromise their integrity as a government of the people, and therefore its place as a beacon of hope to the rest of the world. There was never a ballot measure that involved the approval of relentless torture, and in order for the government to get around this they kept the secret within the government. Now, it’s true that America has a huge government, but total transparency is not impossible. The reason it’s currently hard to achieve is the question of security. The safety of the American people is the priority of the government (just like I mentioned earlier in my first post), and this means that the bad guys can’t know what the US government is up to. So the task then becomes eliminating the security threats that exist, which means resolving conflicts around the world where people dislike us. But, we can’t just give into the opposition’s measures and seek a trail of appeasement until everyone’s problems have been dealt with, this would hurt American’s financially. Hurt Americans don’t vote the president back into the presidency, and so it’s important for the government to not hurt Americans. So, what does America do? Total transparency at the price of the American people, or no transparency and Americans don’t pay a price for their security? We either have to bite the bullet and accept the actions of our government, or take the bull by the horns and have it come out of our own pocket. I’d be willing to pay for a better government because down the road this will actually pay itself back with increased economical success. I’m just gonna have to suck it up before down the road is the present.
Land Divisions in the Sykes-Picot agreement
As seen on this website, the actual allocations of territory in the Sykes-Picot agreement involved Britain getting modern day Jordan, Southern Iraq, and another small area that allowed British access to the Mediterranean Sea. This last territory near Haifa, is evidence of the economical outlook the British took into their negotiations for territory. A port was key for a super power like Britain who had the best Navy in the world. The French took control of southeastern Turkey, Lebanon, Syria, and northern Iraq. The Russian’s were to take control over Constantinople, the Turkish Straits, and the Ottoman Armenian vilayets. All these territories were economically prosperous and would allow each of these nations to have a more controlling hand in the world economy.