Access Today Lawrence In Arabia Authored By Scott Anderson Made Available In Hardcover

new book Lawrence In Arabia offers the benefit of introducing the cast of characters surrounding Lawrence's exploits providing important context for the complexity of the era Unfortunately Anderson never mentions a person critical to the success of the British WWI efforts Gertrude Bell She traversed the harrowing Njed Desert as did Lawrence only she did this years before him She learned the languages and tribal politics of the region and her maps were used for all subseuent military and intelligence work by the Arab Bureau in Cairo where Lawrence was also a member She transferred to Ira and successfully navigated English colonial politics to ensure Faisal's installation as King and the British Empire's access to India By the end of her lifetime's service for the Foreign Office she concluded the region would inevitably be governed by tribal Arab loyalties rather than any superimposed western form of government In her diaries she describes meeting Lawrence when he was new to archaeology on a dig in Syria remarking that she wasn't sure he would come to much However they both contributed greatly to the intelligence work at the Arab Bureau in Cairo and after WWI they both attended the Paris Peace talks and pushed for Faisal to lead the Arabs in Ira I find it a great pity that her name is so often omitted as a key figure from histories of the period The Arabs themselves thought of her as an honorary man for her leadership language and mapping skills and sheer courage I strongly believe she should have been included by Anderson as a peer of Lawrence whose exploits were built on so much of what she had already accomplished in Arabia Her accomplishments are well documented in numerous scholarly books about her and in her own writings and diaries Scott Anderson is a journalist a professional writer and someone who should have been aware of these published sources So I was dismayed to find his Lawrence in Arabia's index has not a single entry for this significant figure of the time in ArabiaI write from the perspective of ayear career as an archaeologist and scientist in the eastern Mediterranean with extensive travels in the region and years of research on Gertrude Bell for a film project But perhaps I am most offended from the perspective of being a woman and watching how invisible even great women remain Lawrence was no ordinary man Brave resolute passionate intelligent reflective uiet cold distant stoic conflicted righteous deceitful independent eccentric Anderson digs into the psychology of Lawrence and the constant mind games he was engaged in as much as his military exploits While Lawrence is the main story Anderson weaves in and out of several others these include Aron Aaronsohn A Jewish agronomist living in Syria turned spymaster to help the British in hopes of establishing a Jewish homeland in Palestine William Yale A Standard Oil of New York agent who secured oil concessions in Syria then becoming an American intelligence agent in Cairo Curt Prüfer A German intelligence agent Djemal Pasha The Ottoman governor of Syria With all these characters and many we learn about Ottoman rule of its Arab territories the Armenian genocide Turkish and Arab fighters and their harsh tactics British controlled Cairo the British bureaucracy French diplomacy horrendous British military tactics the Jewish settlers Standard Oil of New York the Arabian desert and much True to the books title we see how the modern Middle East formed The book starts off slow as Anderson lays the groundwork and introduces the key figures but with that work done the story takes off My notes below focus solely on LawrenceLawrence born ingrew up in a middle class family An exceptionally bright student he was admitted to Oxford where he was drawn to archeology Attracted to the Middle Ages and the Middle East he spent the summer ofin Syria studying the castles of the Crusaders He used his original research in his thesis earning coveted first class honors After graduation Lawrence returned to Syria where he worked on excavations and getting to know the land Unlike most Westerners Lawrence eschewed luxuries He could walk miles through searing heat with a phenomenal capacity to endure the harshest conditions He ate simply and embraced the local people who responded in kind At that time Syria was part of the Ottoman Empire Lawrence resented the Turkish administrators and embraced the local Arab population When in January ofLawrence was asked to help the British military map the Sinai to prepare for possible attacks on the Suez Canal Lawrence readily agreed He was now a recognized expert on the topography of much of Syria and Palestine After the breakout of war in augustLord Kitchener personally wrote Lawrence not to enlist but to wait for assignment First Lawrence went to London preparing maps for the military and was commissioned a second Lieutenant After Turkey entered the war as a German ally he was transferred to British intelligence in Cairo Lawrence recognized that the weakness of the Ottoman Empire was the resentment of the non Turkish population including Christians and Jews In Cairo he hatched a plan to invade Alexandretta on the coast of Syria just south of Anatolia Weakly defended with a populace that hated the Turks such an invasion could lead to widespread revolt and separate Turkey from its Arab empire Unfortunately the French objected not wanting British troops in its area of interest Syria London instead decided to invade Gallipoli which proved disastrous Lawrence studied people like he studied topography carefully and patiently After being sent into the Hejaz western Saudi Arabia to meet tribal leaders Lawrence determined that Faisal ibn Hussein had the necessary passion to lead an Arab uprising Aiding Lawrence was his fluent Arabic and experience in Arab cultures He also relied on his study of medieval European military tactics at Oxford to understand how these men were recruited and organized and how they would fight For these clansmen and tribal leaders were analogous to the knights and their legions inth century France Lawrence as usual would come up with a plan that went against the British decision making bureaucracy However as an intelligence agent with access to highly classified data he knew well how this bureaucracy worked and how to manipulate it Lawrence embedded himself with the tribes learning how to talk to the Arab chieftains to win them over to his point of viewIn DecemberLawrence became a valued aid to Faisal who convinced the British to assign Lawrence to him personally Lawrence was thrilled but soon disillusioned as he saw Faisal waiver when faced with actual combat But as Lawrence gained experience he became realistic about what the Arabs could accomplish and importantly which Arabs he could rely on Lawrence grew to identify with the Arab cause even than Britains He was disillusioned with the duplicity of his own governments dealings although Lawrence also used deceit to achieve his aims Britain promised Faisals father Emir Hussein in the McMahon Hussein Correspondence that if the Arabs revolted that the British would guarantee them independence for their new country That included Syria Lebanon Palestine and Ira with the exception of small temporary enclaves Hussein believed the British and kept that letter in his pocket But the British also promised Syria and Lebanon to the French in the secret Sykes Picot agreement inBritish MP Mark Sykes also promised the Zionist community they could have Palestine for their help in the war Lawrence hated the French who he saw as even double dealing than the British and did not want them to get Syria Taking a step for which he could have been court martialed Lawrence shared confidential information about the Anglo French agreement with Faisal to convince him to attack the Turks in Syria Lawrence was determined to see the Arabs take Syria from the Turks so that they and not the French could not have it once the Ottoman Empire was defeatedIn MarchLawrence led his first attack on a Turkish railway station at Aba el Naam The attack did much damage but failed to take out the locomotive as Lawrence saw many of his Arab allies retreat in the face of danger Lawrence started meeting with many tribes to assess how much they could and would help and how reliable they would be To further prepare for his campaign to take Syria Lawrence went on a dangerous solo trip from the Hejaz to the outskirts of Damascus an effort that would earn him a nomination for the Victoria Cross Britains highest military honor He met with Syrian tribal leaders to glean how much support an Arab invasion would get Most were hesitant even though conditions under the Ottomans had deteriorated badly with food shortages epidemics and masses of starving deported Armenians In Juneupon return to the Hejaz Lawrence organized an Arab force to attack Aaba It would be a long journey through harsh land with blistering heat and withering sandstorms to come at the city from the backside which the Turks would not expect Lawrence also directed many small parties to venture into southern Syria and destroy bridges and other Turkish assets to divert attention from his main objective The journey was especially hard on Lawrence who suffered from recurring malaria and boils among other ailments But his endurance was legendary In route Lawrence and his accompanying tribal fighters primarily the Howeitat surprised and massacred a Turkish force ofat Aba el Lissan This was revenge for the Howeitat The Turks had cut the throats of everyone mostly woman and children in a Howeitat settlement while the men were away The Howeitat hatred of the Turks is why Lawrence saw them as reliable allies Approaching Aaba from the mountains Lawrence caught the Turks with no defensive positions They surrenderedIn Julyhaving traveled somemiles by camel in the last thirty days Lawrence raced anotherto reach Cairo and report to H which still didnt know Aaba had been captured His uniform long gone he reported in tattered Arab robes His success brought him immediate fame and glory He parlayed that into a plan for a two prong attack with British forces under General Allenby The British would proceed to Palestine along the coast Lawrence and whatever Arab allies he could muster would proceed inland to Syria First he would conduct a raid from Aaba on a bridge and crossing train near Mudowarra Exploding a mine on the bridge sent the locomotives into the underlying culvert Lawrence had Lewis machine guns and a Stokes mortar which decimated the Turkish soldiers The accompanyingArab fighters finished the job looting the train which also carried civilians many of whom were also killed Similar raids were conducted while Lawrence waited for the British offensive in Palestine Some Arabs were motivated by hatred of the Turks but many were motivated by profit Throughout the ensuing campaigns revelations about the English commitments to French autonomy in Syria and a Jewish homeland in Palestine would make the Arabs uestion their allegiance to the British This resulted in Faisal with Lawrence concurrence initiating negotiations with the Turks which would be ongoing but not fruitful Lawrence knew the British would find out and wanted them to stop taking

the Arabs for grantedIn Novemberwith amillion today bounty on his head Lawrence led a dangerous raid to blow up a railroad bridge in Turkish controlled Syria The goal was to prevent Turkish reinforcements as General Allenby attacked the Turks in Palestine Much went wrong Lawrence had too little demolition cable resulting in his being wounded Worse one of his men was Turkish spy The Turks were alerted and the operation failed But Lawrence was determined to do something He found a Turkish troop train to blow up in Minifer as a consolation prize Then he decided to scout the Deraa train station in Syria Caught by the Turks he was tortured and probably raped Somehow he got away Lawrence offered several versions of what happened perhaps trying to hide his humiliation Lawrence found his way back to Aaba and from there to Jerusalem to meet a victorious General Allenby In JanuaryLawrence working with Faisal and the Arab Legion took the town of Tafileh in inland Syria But Lawrence after his ordeal at Deraa recruited his own personal guard of aboutmen who would be loyal only to him These were mostly outlaws and outcasts of the tribes so they would have no competing loyalty Many would die in the ensuing battles The Turks sent a thousand men to retake Tafileh Lawrence using a classic pincer attack destroyed this army for which he was awarded the Distinguished Service Order medal The battle also showed Lawrence had become hardened caring little while the Arabs finished off the Turks trapped in a gorge The battle at Tafileh was a success but the broader objectives were no longer feasible since Lawrence left control ofworth of gold in the hands of Husseinsyear old son Zeid The gold was to pay the fighters who would join Lawrence in a new attack but Zeid used it to pay back wages mostly to uninvolved tribes Lawrence devastated went to report to General Allenby half expecting to be relieved But Allenby had bigger concerns planning a new attack This direct attack on the Turks and Germans in Palestine failed with heavy casualties Then he found out half his troops were being transferred to France Also the Imperial Camel Corps was to be eliminated Lawrence asked what about the camels Many camels had been killed in the war and were in heavy demand Few were available limiting how many Arabs could join the fight Allenby gave Lawrencefine camels Lawrence was ecstatic as was Faisal In SeptemberAllenby reinforced by British Arab Legion troops from Ira and Indian troops again attacked the Turkish army in Palestine this time with innovative tactics Lawrence was to isolate the important Deraa rail station to block Turkish reinforcements In addition to the camels Lawrence took advantage of new technology the Rolls Royce ard car enabling him to speed around destroying railway tracks and bridges with great efficiency Lawrences attacks with Arab fighters proved successful preventing Turkish reinforcements Allenbys attack sent the Turks and Germans reeling Lawrence was ready in ambush as they retreated His Arab forces killed many thousands They were spurred on by the brutality of the retreating Turks who were killing and raping all Arab civilians they could find including children Witnessing this civilian carnage Lawrence OKd that there would be no Turkish prisoners and the Arabs took out their revenge Soundly beaten the Turks abandoned Damascus retreating to the Anatolian border In OctoberLawrence and Faisal met with General Allenby who said Faisal would be in charge of Syria but that he would have to work through a French liaison officer in governing the country Lawrence and Faisal both were stunned as Britain had indicated the Sykes Picot agreement was dead and had promised the Arabs they would have an independent Syria But Britain had yielded to French pressure just a month earlier Lawrence refused to work with the French and demanded he be returned to England which he was allowed to do Summoned to Buckingham Palace by King George V Lawrence thought the meeting would be about ongoing Middle East negotiations Entering the room facing the King he soon realized he was to be knighted which he declined turned around and walked away In DecemberLloyd George met with Clemenceau They divided the Middle East between them with France taking Syria including Lebanon and Britain taking Ira and Palestine including Trans Jordan Still Lawrence tried to help the Arabs working as an advisor to Faisal at theParis Peace Conference to little avail and angering the British negotiators Britain soon found itself fighting off a revolt in Ira with thousands dying InLloyd George made Churchill Colonial Secretary Churchill turned to Lawrence who helped him make significant changes Faisal was crowned King of Ira Faisal had been ousted from Syria in a battle with the French who inherited a colony filled with seething hatred Trans Jordan was separated from Palestine and Faisals younger brother Abdullah crowned King Faisals father Hussein was given the Hejaz allowing the Wahhabist backed ibn Saud to take the interior Inibn Saud attacked Mecca and took the Hejaz from Hussein who lived out his days in Jordan with his son With increased Jewish immigration and the prospect of a Jewish state relations between Arab and Jew in Palestine went from bad to worse The Middle East we know today was taking shapeLawrence felt he had betrayed the Arabs and felt responsible for the many grisly deaths he had witnessed in his mind all for nothing Lawrence never the most stable person became insular and depressed Today we would say he suffered from PTSD He joined the air force as a private wanting no position with responsibility He avoided friends even King Faisal when he visited Britain He wrote his autobiographical account of his time in the Middle East Seven Pillars privately printing only a few copies He did write a very popular abbreviated version for general publication and donated the proceeds to charity He moved into a small cottage where he devoted his time to reading and even translating Homers Odyssey He died in a motorcycle accident inat the age ofChurchill stated in his eulogy “I deem him one of the greatest beings alive in our time I do not see his like elsewhere I fear whatever our need we shall never see his like again”.