A Little History: Bring the Troops Home

A Little History All Americans Should Know!

In order to better understand the Middle East we need to better understand our own history. History has been one of my passions, and it is where I am most educated. I have spent a great deal of my life using it to understand the problems we face in the Middle East.

It would be too exhausting to learn about the centuries of religious history. Instead, we need to understand the more recent, and very specific historical events that have formed the contemporary Middle East. 

Our adventure begins with the discussion of the Ottoman Empire, which was the empire that ruled the Middle East for over 600 years, from 1299-1923. Second, we will see what happened to the Middle East after World War I through the British Mandate System. This system created countries where there were no organic countries to be made. Finally, we will dive deeper into America's involvement in the Middle East, and the handing off of the British problem.  

       A Brief Ottoman History

The Ottoman Empire is considered a Turkish, and Islamic empire; that at one point was very close to sweeping across Europe. The Ottoman Empire started out as a small group of warriors, and quickly expanded to supremacy. Ruling over a huge chunk of the world, without interruption, for longer than 600 years. The borders were vast including modern day Iraq, Syria, Israel, Egypt, parts of Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Greece, Bulgaria and northern Africa. The capital city was Istanbul, and this capital was formerly known as Constantinople.

The Ottoman armies were very advanced, and expressed themselves in Eastern Europe. Knocking on the doors of the Austrian Empire in Vienna during the siege of Vienna,1683. The Ottomans pushed their borders further east, and held the line against the Persian Empire; what we now know as contemporary Iran. 

The nature of this empire relative to others was, in fact, more liberal than almost any empire in the world. All while Christians were attacking each other, and purging religions out of the their own borders. All while China kept professing the male dominated Confucianism. The Ottomans kept order within their cosmopolitan empire using minimal interference While other civilizations were purging, this one simply forced people who were not Muslim to pay an extra tax, called Jizya.

The various religions were able to practice their own religion relatively peacefully; and even use their own religious courts, along side the Islamic courts. Being able to use their own religious courts, definitely should not be undervalued. Jews, Christians, Muslims and Zoroastrians lived in relative peace for over 600 years.

Why are they all of a sudden at odds?

The reason for this freedom has to do with the low number of true Ottoman's there were. As well as the nature of controlling large, diverse territories. The Ottoman Empire was run by only a few guys. In order, to keep the status as sultan the empire would have to stick together. The way to keep the Empire from falling apart was to actually let people live their own lives, and tax their wealth.

The Ottoman Empire

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Source: http://asianhistory.about.com/od/turkeyhistoryculture/ss/OttomanEmpireMapFacts.htm

So what happened?

The British Mandate System After World War I.

The Ottoman Empire lasted until World War I and we often hear nothing about this impressive stability. However, what were the goals of the people who took over the Middle East after World War I? For this we need to understand the nature of Colonialism and Mercantilism. 

Let's quickly brush over the nature of British and French Colonialism. These were the two nations that received the spoils of World War I. One clear way the British would keep their colonial possessions under control was letting them constantly be at odds with each other. If they could side with one group and keep the other group at odds with the first group; then the two groups would never join forces and kick out the British colonialists. Since the British are outsiders and know very little about the region. The nations they created were from scratch, truly created from scratch. Often just drawling lines on a map connecting economic resources with economic centers, cities. 

For example, Iraq during the Ottoman Empire consisted of three separate provinces with their own cultures. The British slammed all three nations into one nation. Creating the very problem we have today in the Middle East. Several Nations slammed into one nation is no nation at all. I hope by now it is becoming clear to the reader that these people didn't bring this mandate system onto themselves voluntarily. I am attempting to illustrate in a few paragraphs what is written in a few thousand of pages. A history most Americans know nothing about, yet many Americans continue to call for bombing people on the other side of the world. 

Yet these people in the Middle East do not have what we call Self Determination. Their governments are puppet governments and the cultures are not homogeneous enough to restore their Self Determination.

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It's now Americas problem!

Source: http://www.slideshare.net/dmcdowell/middle-east-since-wwi

The Solution is to Leave the Middle East

Why is the British problem now our Problem? After World War II the Empirical systems of the world were ended. However, the role of policing the world, monitoring the world, diplomatic intervention around the world and military intervention around the world did not end. Empires did not end and the empire was simply passed down to us. We still claim all these international powers as our rightful place in the world. I say no! This is not our American tradition and it is not our place to be the policeman of the world.

The British Mandate system is not hard to understand and it is a valuable gem lost in history. All Americans should know where their history comes from and much of it has been passed down from Britain. They should know about this process because their honor, blood and treasure is paying for its continuation. We sometimes overtly intervene in the Middle East and this is seen in our botched invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan. However, we haven't heard how much of our honor, blood and treasure has been lost through covert military action. .


        What would our founding fathers think?          

"The means of defense against foreign danger historically have become the instruments of tyranny at home." James Madison.

"Commerce with all nations, alliances with none, should be our motto." Thomas Jefferson

 "I hope our wisdom will grow with our power, and teach us that the less we use our power the greater it will be." Thomas Jefferson

"We must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence. wether sought or unsought, by the military-undustrial complex." Dwight D. Eisenhower

"The essence of so-called war prosperty; it enriches some by what it takes from others. It is not rising wealth but a shifting of wealth and income." Ludwig von Mises

"Of all the enemies to public liberty, war is perhaps the most to be dreaded because it comprises and develops the germ of every other." James Madison

"No nation could perserve its freedom in the midst of continual warfare." James Madison

"Criticism in a time of war is essential to the maintenance of any kind of democratic government." Sen. Robert Taft of Ohio

"When goods don't cross borders, soldiers will." Fredric Bastiat

"The Constitution vests the power of declaring war in Congress; therefore no offensive expedition of imprortance can be undertaken until after they shall have deliberated upon the subject and authorized such a measure." George Washington

Source: All quotes have been taken from Ron Paul's A Foreign Policy of Freedom: Peace, Commerce and Honest Friendship.