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August 11, 2006

Pissing and Peace

It's probably better to have him inside the tent pissing out, than outside the tent pissing in.
             -- Lyndon Johnson, quoted in NY Times 31 Oct 71 (concerning J. Edgar Hoover)

After 'the war to end war' they seem to have been pretty successful in Paris at making a 'Peace to end Peace'.
             -- Archibal Wavell, an officer who served under Allenby in the Palestine campaign, commenting on the remaking of the Middle East and the deeply flawed treaties bringing World War I to an end.

With the last quote in mind, and thinking about the current problems in the the Gulf region, as well as in Israel, people should definitely consider reading David Fromkin's excellent (if somewhat academic) "A Peace to End All Peace". It's an authoritative recounting of the creation of the modern Middle East -- in all of its flaws, rival religions, ideologies, and tribal holdovers -- at the end of World War I.

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