A Peace to End All Peace

A commonly held observation is that history is cyclical. The same tragic mistakes are repeated over and over again and depending upon whether the observer is a cynic or an optimist we are given differing opinions as to whether or not this cycle can be broken. A fact acknowledged by both sides is that a sound understanding of the underpinnings of the cycle is essential to any attempt to break out of it. To that end it is of no great surprise that David Fromkin and his 1989 A Peace to End All Peace are both widely lauded and read. A remarkable analysis of the West in the Middle East from 1914 to 1922, the text is recommended or required reading for various Army, Marine Corps and Navy officer programs, the Department of State and the Kennedy School of Government. Acclaimed by esteemed diplomat Richard Holbrooke among others, Fromkins sweeping epic holds widespread acclaim and interest in professional circles with an interest in the Middle East. For the vast majority of readers the novel is an extremely essential guide to understanding the origins of the region which has captured our focus for so long. Sadly, A Peace to End All Peace is as flawed as it is brilliant. The author being trained as an expert on international law, the text spends a large amount of time picking apart the various agreements made and broken in the eight years it covers. Fromkin gleefully dissects the correspondence between High Commissioner Sir Henry McMahon and the ambitious Sharif of Mecca Hussein bin Ali to find that both sides played the other for fools. "The British intended to support the candidacy of Hussein for the position of 'Pope' of Islama position that (unbeknown to them) did not exist; while (unbeknown to them too) the language they used encouraged him to attempt to become ruler of the entire Arab world (105) Fromkins depth of research is nearly incredible, usually comparing a characters diary to their autobiography and then to scholarly accounts of their life during the initial introductions to the reader. He points out when these historical figures lie, both to each other and to history through falsified autobiographical works. The author analyzes each major bureaucrats motivations, from George Sykes blundering attempts at altruism to David Lloyd Georges past professional associations which Fromkin implies had effects on his policy upon rising to Prime Minister. Of particular note is the Balfour Declaration and Sykes-Picot Agreement. Zionists and anti-zionists have debated the merits and purposes of these two documents for close to a century and no firm understanding has been reached. Fromkin turns his attention to these documents fairly and examines them as he would any other contract in a court of law. In the end the author determines that both the unilateral declaration and the Agreement between Allies were intentionally non-committal. Palestinians and Israelis have argued heatedly for decades over documents that were created precisely to promise nothing. This legal viewpoint allows Fromkin to proceed methodically through this tumultuous period in history, analyzing both the agreements between countries and the people who made them with extraordinary depth and insight. There is little in the sources utilized that the author fails to tear apart and examine, ensuring that this text is a deserving entry-level title in any budding scholars study of the Middle East and its origins. One of the most grievous and terrifyingly common mistakes made on the topic of the Middle East is the assumption that most of those people who inhabit the area identify with the

national boundaries on a map. Does memorization of a map allow you to locate Kurdistan? To draw the boundaries of the two-state solution supported by the international community sans the U.S. and Israel? To accurately understand the origins and motivations of the hundreds of ethnic groups and tribes which travel freely across borders in the region? In Afghanistan today many in the Department of Defense use the blanket terms Taliban and Al-Qaeda to refer to militants who oppose us or the government we installed. Such militants variously identify as criminal organizations, religious fundamentalists, anarchists, opportunists, and foreign trained and funded operatives among a host of other motivations. David Fromkins work is lauded by diplomats and the DoD and DoS because it is an in-depth dissection of the eight year climax of the Great Game and forging of the modern Middle East. An examination of the work would allow policy makers to understand the origins of Jordan and to predict its reaction to, say, Palestines application to the UN for statehood. A cursory glance over A Peace to End All Peace will show why exactly it is the PKK continues to launch terrorist attacks into Turkey and Syria, and why the Kurd government turns a blind eye to their actions. Fromkins work is an extremely important one for any student of the Middle East. Knowledge of the cycle of history might have saved us from a decade of wars and a bankrupt nation. Knowledge of the crucible in which Iraq and Syria and Saudi Arabia were formed could have affected our relations with those nations and saved millions of lives, trillions of dollars, and prevented the longest and most disastrous series of conflicts in American history. By understanding the inherent underpinnings of the region we could have avoided inflaming the opinions of an entire religion against us. This is both the importance and the tragedy of Fromkins work. Notice the wording of the last sentence of the first paragraph. There is little in the sources utilized that the author fails to exploit. That is not to say that there is not still a wealth of information in sources the author did not use. Fromkin synthesizes biographies, autobiographies, diaries, period news periodicals, and other texts written on the topics discussed to craft a picture of 1914-1922. One voice is conspicuously missing, and that is the voice of the people whose land the text spends so long examining. The author fails to use any native sources of note. Indeed, he fails even to use many foreign sources of note. Fromkins research was unparalled in regards to the British, but the work is weakend by its failure to use any major foreign language sources. French, Russian, and Turkish ambassadors played enormous parts in regards to the creation of the modern middle east. Yet they are mentioned only as they pertain to the main characters of Fromkins text; The British politicians and bureacrats. In fact Fromkin states bizarrely that Winston Churchill is the central character of his novel when in fact he appears in the beginning of the war as the director of the British Navy only long enough to seize two Turkish ships (Paid for in large part by public donations of the Turkish people, no less) and drive the Turks further into the arms of Germany before launching the disastrous Gallipoli campaign and being run out of office. Churchill does not come back into the picture of affecting the Middle East in any form until the middle of 1917, after the majority of relationships and plans had already been set in motion. Fromkins reliance on British sources results in a marginalization of the Arab Revolt. His text constantly refers to it as ineffectual and inconsequential, when the Revolt opened up the southern front of the Great War with the capture of Aqaba and saved the British from another embarrassing defeat with the encirclement of 35,000 Turkish troops only made possible by the Arabs. This is just a singular

example of a failing in scholarship stemming from one sided use of sources, one of the major drawbacks to Fromkins otherwise exceptional text. There are few works of literature quite so essential to understanding a particular region of the world. A Peace to End All Peace is required reading for anyone interested in the Middle East. It is a masterful synthesization of sources and examination of events just as Barbara Tuchmanns Guns of August is a necessity for understanding the month of August 1914 in continental Europe. It is intrinsic to discerning the current paradigm of the populace of Central Asia. It is lengthy, insightful, and even humorous at times. But any reader must take care to understand that it is also imperfect . A one sided book, A Peace to End All Peace explores that side beautifully and must be commended for this fact. But a full understanding of the foundations of the region will come only with a varied selection of texts of the same quality of Fromkins epic. The imperfections, however, stem from omissions rather than any other sort of scholarly mistake. The information found in David Fromkins text is excellent but a full understanding of the region and its history requires the reader to view and understand all sides, something that A Peace to End All Peace does not adequately provide the means to do.