“Another important book that should be added to Bishtawi’s existing politico-historical bibliography”

History is reviewed from a refreshingly new perspective

By Hussam Uddin Mohammed

Al Quds Al Arabi Newspaper
London

Once again Adel S. Bishtawi, author of History of Injustice in the Arab World, puts his captivating literary style and scholarly rationale in the service of his new book: History of American Injustice – Manifest Destiny of Imperial Decline. The new book is an analytical exercise in deconstructing and reconstructing the perceptions currently being marketed about the United States of America. It is a delicate dissection of its history, worldwide in general and in the Arab region in particular.

The importance of this book stems from the ability of its author to separate and examine individually the numerous elements of the American aim to control its global sphere of interest. The US pursues this goal guided by a three-headed monster: military power, a US dollar floating on a sea of Arab oil and a collection of lesser important tools that include American multinational corporations, Hollywood, certain sections of the media and the international organisations established at the end of World War II to serve and promote American interests globally, such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), better known collectively as the “Two Ugly Sisters”.

This book should assist the attentive reader in re-evaluating the most important political issues in the Middle East as the author examines events past and present from a refreshingly new perspective. An example of this approach is the author’s unorthodox analysis of the US exploitation of the 1973 Arab-Israeli war and the subsequent Arab oil embargo, by extracting OPEC’s pledge to price oil in US dollars. Another is his explanation of the reasons behind the postponement of the American-Israeli strike against Iran in 2005 due to former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s massive stroke, which cast a dark shadow over the ability of any successive Israeli leader to undertake such a dangerous task.

Uncompromising as always, Bishtawi, a distinguished writer of fiction of non-fiction, finds it hard to set aside his literary techniques. As a result, an ordinary issue that would otherwise be accorded minimal detail is dissected and examined, revealing a multitude of significant aspects. One example is his reference to Specialist Lori Piestewa, a Hopi, who was the first indigenous American to die in Iraq. Her death became the conclusion to a chapter entitled The Red Holocaust, which traces the history of the decimated noble nations, and the economic and social pressures that lead a surprisingly higher proportion of indigenous Americans to enlist in the army.

Other unique qualities include the author’s comprehensive researching and cross-referencing of topics using, as many qualified sources as possible. Many of the issues analysed in this book belong to a litany of war-related events and situations that have mostly been avoided by mainstream (corporate) journalism. This explains the substantial use of Internet links as references. For some readers, the relatively heavy use of such referencing may be a distraction, but it should be of great value to Arab students of the economic and political history of the Arab world and the world at large, in view of extensive American intervention in the region.

The book utilises the considerable experience of the writer in the areas of journalism, research, history, fiction and human studies. He was Central Managing Editor of the Emirates News Agency, and a co-founder of two of the most prominent newspapers in the Arab world, Al Sharq Al Awsat and Al Hayat. It is difficult for those delving into Bishtawi’s various works to ascertain which of his writing techniques mix with others. Suffice it to say, the ultimate effect on readers is enhanced satisfaction in their reading, and the encouragement of literary critics to study these techniques further. One example of how Bishtawi exploits his past experience in adding extra depth to his work is when he narrates how surprised he was to note, during a trip to Canada where he met a number of officials and parliamentarians, that while they supported the rights of the Palestinians, they were keen to avoid mentioning the inseparable right to self-determination. As it turned out, to say so in public would apparently be mistaken by rightists as an opportunity for the potential self-determination of the indigenous Indian population, which could encourage them to demand more rights than the country was comfortable to offer.

Bishtawi is in no doubt that the July 2006 war between Israel and Hizbollah was one of the two most important wars in the Middle East thus far (the other being the Iraq war). His introduction to a chapter about the July 2006 war, entitled David’s Stone, is a further example of the combining his personal experiences with historical knowledge, as well as a strong background in journalism and research. He narrates how, while visiting relatives in his native Palestinian town of Nazareth, he was presented with two gifts; one of them a sling stone found by accident in the Jezreel valley (Arabic: Marj Bin Amer), where ancient wars were fought. Drawing biblical parallels, Bishtawi presents Hizbollah as little David, hurling the stone that was to put an end to the might of Goliath.

What follows is an analysis of how the concept of victory and defeat was changed forever after Goliath was struck by David’s stone. Wars thereafter were never the same. Katyusha rockets and other crude home-made explosives, today’s equivalent of David’s stone, have become the ultimate deterrent. Hamas, he notes later on, subsequently realised the importance of deterrence in any conflict, and understood that attempting to balance the scales of power, no matter how unequal the resulting balance is, will dramatically change the result of conflicts in ways similar to the one fought in summer 2006 close to  Lebanon’s southern border with Israel.

Readers familiar with Bishtawi’s other works, including his novels, will notice the superimposition of his fictional style on this politico-historical book. The segmentation of chapters allows for effortless reading and the easy transition from one chapter to another. Bishtawi prepares surprises for his readers in certain places, techniques usually reserved for novel-writing. The titles of chapters and sections are witty, but their content is sufficiently and necessarily serious. One such example is the title: Mesopotamia- The Land Between Two Oil Reservoirs, to denote the vastness of oil reserves in Iraq. Another is: The Kham (Arabic for crude oil) of Uncle Sam, to imply the control of the US over Arab oil. Likewise is the title: The Dollar of Uncle Kham (Kham is used here to denote Arab oil exporters), to explain the vital role played by Arab oil producers in propping up the US dollar by accepting a dollar pricing system. The author almost summarises the entire content of a large chapter in his book by naming it The Red Holocaust. This, clearly, is what befell the indigenous American Indians.

Manifest Destiny of Imperial Decline – A History of American Injustice is another important book that should be added to Bishtawi’s existing politico-historical bibliography, beginning with his authoritative study of the Andalusian Moriscos through to his most recent work History of Injustice in the Arab World.

Hussam Uddin Mohammed is Editorial Secretary and Head of Culture Department

Translated by Samir Rabah

Word Count: 1,246