In 10 slides see how ISIL and the violence in the Middle East are byproducts of ancient tensions, a post-WWI map, the meeting between Adolf Hitler and the founder of Muslim Radicalism, a direct link to Saddam Hussein, a lack of education and poverty.

1. Understanding the Middle East
The links between WWI, Hitler, Saddam Hussein and ISIL.

2. The Cradle of Civilization: The Fertile Crescent is rich farmland that extends from the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers,
known as Mesopotamia, east to the Jordan and upper Nile River valleys. Historians call this land as the Cradle of
Civilization because early humans farmed there as long ago as 9000 BC. By 2500 BC the Sumerians, whose origins
remain a mystery, had developed the first complex civilization with written laws, a political system and major
innovations like writing, glass, the wheel, irrigation and the domestication of animals and plants.
The Prophet Abraham, who is known as the father of three great religions – Judaism, Christianity and Islam, was
born there, along the southern Euphrates River in the city of Ur. Intense conflicts in the region have shaped much
of human history and continue to influence global military, political, social and economic events today.
Ancient Map Current Map
Ur
Levant, also known as the Eastern Mediterranean, is a geographic and
cultural region consisting of the "eastern Mediterranean littoral
between Anatolia and Egypt”. The Levant today consists of the Cyprus,
Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, and part of southern Turkey.

3. Islam and the Great Sunni-Shia Divide:
Mohammed was born around 570 AD in Mecca. He
founded Islam and Muslims believe he is God’s last
prophet.
At 40 he received revelations from the Archangel
Gabriel that became the 6200+ verses of the Quran.
Mohammed assembled an army of 10,000+ and
united the Saudi Peninsula under Islam. he died in
632 but by 652 his followers had taken lands (in
green) in the Middle East, North Africa, and Europe.
Islam is divided into two major denominations,
Sunni and Shia. Approximately 85%+ of Muslims are
Sunni and 10%+ Shia. The main issue is Sunnis
believe Abu Bakr, the father of Mohammed’s wife,
is Mohammed’s successor while Shias believe his
cousin and son-in-law, Ali, was divinely ordained as
his successor. The debate caused a regional civil
war that continues today!
The West cares deeply about this part of the world
because of the oilfields, the Suez Canal and the
Jewish people and Israel. Those economic interests
and close relationships are part of our history and
culture. They are not easy to untangle but as the US
becomes more energy independent, our economic
interests in the area are declining. Israel, an old
friend and outpost of Democracy, remains an issue.
Source: Mohammad Adil
Mecca
Source: The Shia Revival by Vali Nasr

4. The Ottoman Empire began in the early 1300s and
lasted for over 500 years, longer than the Roman
Empire. Starting in Turkey, it grew until 1683 when,
under Suleiman the Magnificent, it covered over 2
million square miles (in green).
The empire was officially an Islamic state but was
tolerant of other religious groups. It lasted until the
end of WWI when it was carved up between the
British, French, Italians, Russians and Spanish.
The Sykes-Picot Treaty of 1916 set arbitrary borders
between Iraq, Jordan and Syria designed to secure
valuable coastal areas for the allies. It ignored
promised made to the Arabs, history and local
cultures. The treaty is cited as the root cause of
war and extremism in the region (see slide 7).
Iraq and Syria, both of which were part of the
Ottoman Empire, are two good examples of made
up countries where traditional and religious
borders were ignored (see map lower right).
Various dictators have kept a lid on their people for
decades. But with Gaddafi, Hussein, and Mubarak
gone, and a weakened Assad, artificial borders are
being tested and old grievances refought by the
most violent actors, Radical Muslims.
Syria
Iraq

5. Middle East Ethnicity
Geographically the Middle East spans from Turkey to Afghanistan, down to Yemen, and includes at least part of
northern Africa, an area larger than most people realize. Culturally and religiously it’s a mish-mash of 14+ nations and
66+ ethnic groups with identities tied to religion, language, lifestyle and history. Simply put, there is no monolithic
Middle East but when attacked or oppressed Muslims tend to stand with Muslims and Arabs with Arabs.
Ethnicity, as Izady explains,
refers to group identity and
that is a product of history.
Language alone is not a group.
Americans and Australians,
for example, speak English but
are different ethnic groups.
Both Sunni and Shia in Iraq
speak Arabic but are divided
on almost every other ethnic
attribute, including aspects of
their Muslim beliefs. However,
they fight side-by-side when
threatened by non-Muslims,
non-Arabs or those they view
as Imperialists – the US, Britain
and French.
Source: Michael Izady, Columbia University

6. Israel: Jews (non-Muslims) have been migrating to Palestine
since 1700 and by 1948 were 31% of the total population, most
living on land purchased legally from Arabs. Today Israel is home
to over 8 million people and 75% of them are Jewish.
Britain ruled Palestine from 1920-1948. WWII displaced
250,000 Jews so in 1947 the United Nations Partition Plan for
Palestine sectioned off distinct territories for Jews and Arabs.
On May 14, 1948, the Jewish Agency for Palestine declared
statehood and the next day Arabs from Egypt, Syria,
Transjordan, and Iraq attacked. The war lasted a year and
resulted in 700,000 Palestinian refugees. Several similar wars
have followed.
Israel continues to build settlement homes inside the
Palestinian West Bank and the ruling political party of the
Palestinians, HAMAS, continues to launch missiles into Israel
and refusing to recognize Israel’s right to exist. HAMAS has been
deemed a terrorist organization but continues to enjoy Arab
support.
The Israeli economy is ranked 16th in the world with an average
GDP per person of $31,400, more than 10 times that of the
Palestinian populations in Gaza and the West Bank. Poverty and
illiteracy are the real problems, they are what fuels Palestinian
and all Radicalism. (see slide 8)
Religion and politics play a huge roles as well: The ancient city
of Jerusalem is considered holy by the Jews, Christians and
Muslims and is the capital of both Israel and Palestine.

7. From Hitler to Saddam Hussein to ISIL
Haj Amin el-Husseini was the Grand Mufti (religious
leader) of Jerusalem in 1921. He fought for a vast united
Arab state and may be the first Radical. He served the
Nazis (see photos), helped build a 30,000 Muslim SS unit
(Handschar) and led a failed coup against the British in
Iraq in 1941 with Nazi financial and military support.
Joining el-Husseni in the coup attempt was an Army
officer named Khairallah Talfah. Talfah was a bitter man
who raised his impoverished nephew, Saddam Hussein.
Talfah authored Three Whom God Should Not Have
Created: Persians, Jews, and Flies, which has been called
“a weak Iraqi attempt at imitating Mein Kampf.”
Hussein was the muscle of the Baath Party. Talfah gave
Hussien his first murder order. Michel Aflaq founded the
Baath party, mentored Hussein and aided his rise to
power. Baath means “rebirth” in Arabic, as in a great Arab
state or Caliphate. ISIL’s head, al-Baghdadi, top aides are
ex-Hussein generals, Al Turkmani and al-Anbari.
The desire for a far-reaching Arab State and hatred of
Jews and the West links el-Hussein, Saddam Hussein, the
Muslim Brotherhood, Al Qaeda in Iraq and now ISIL
lineage can be traced to WWI and the Sykes-Picot pact.
In mid-2014 ISIL released a video entitled “The End of
Sykes-Picot.” (see slide 4)
Hal Amin el-Husseni
Hal Amin el-Husseini with Hitler, 1941
Saddan and Michel Aflaq, 1988
Muslim Brotherhood
Al Qaeda
ISIL
Baath Party flag

8. The Root Cause of Radicalism: The past clearly set the stage for unrest and Radicalism. However, it’s the present that
fans the flames. To see the connection between Middle Eastern Radicalism and terrorism examine the country’s
illiteracy rate, per capita (person) income, the population under 25 years old and unemployment. There are lots of
young people, especially young men, that are poor and unemployed. With time and testosterone in abundance, crime,
drugs, radical-gang-membership, increases dramatically. The numbers and results mirror American inner-cities..
The United Nations published these numbers in 2012. The data shows why Egypt, Libya, Syria and Yemen are hotbeds
of Radicalism. They’re poor, unemployed, illiterate and young. Conversely Jordan, Kuwait and Qatar (and Israel) are
rather stable, because they’re richer, employed, literate and a bit older. Jordan, with a 1 million plus Syrian refugees is
at risk and the good numbers from Iraq are negative following the US exit and the economic impact of ISIL.
Country
Population
(MM)
Median
Age
%
under
25
2012 GDP
(Bil)
GDP CHG:
2010 Per Capita
Unemploy
ment Inflation Illiteracy
Algeria 36.50 27.1 46.2% $ 206.5 11.4% $ 5,660 9.7% 3.5% 27.4%
Bahrain 1.15 30.4 35.9% $ 26.5 23.8% $ 23,027 15.0% 3.6% 5.4%
Egypt 82.10 24.0 50.3% $ 255.0 16.7% $ 3 ,109 13.2% 10.3% 28.0%
Iran 76.12 27.6 43.6% $ 483.8 15.5% $ 6 ,356 11.5% 43.6% 23.0%
Iraq 33.64 20.6 56.8% $ 130.6 55.3% $ 3 ,882 18.0% 2.3% 21.8%
Israel 7.70 29.3 43.0% $ 246.8 13.4% $ 32,060 6.7% 2.2% 2.9%
Jordan 6.40 21.8 54.5% $ 31.4 19.2% $ 4 ,901 11.9% 5.9% 6.6%
Kuwait 3.79 26.4 41.0% $ 174.6 45.5% $ 46,142 1.5% 3.1% 6.7%
Lebanon 4.01 29.4 39.6% $ 41.8 12.7% $ 10,416 10.0% 8.8% 12.6%
Libya 6.00 24.8 45.9% $ 81.9 -12.7% $ 12,300 30.0% 15.9% 10.5%
Oman n/a 23.9 50.8% $ 76.5 35.6% $ 25,151 15.0% 1.0% 18.6%
Qatar 1.84 30.8 26.4% $ 184.6 45.0% $ 100,337 0.5% 3.4% 3.7%
Saudi Arabia 361.91 21.6 47.8% $ 657.0 44.0% $ 22,823 10.8% 3.7% 13.4%
Syria n/a 21.5 54.7% $ 60.0 n/a n/a 14.9% 49.5% 20.4%
UAE 5.54 30.2 34.4% $ 362.0 27.5% $ 65,377 4.3% 1.3% 22.1%
Tunisia 10.77 29.7 39.5% $ 45.7 2.9% $ 18,900 15.9% 6.1% 25.7%
Yemen 25.88 16.4 63.1% $ 36.4 16.1% $ 1 ,405 35.0% 13.1% 36.1%
Average 44.78 25.6 45.5% $ 182.4 23.2% $ 25,079 13.2% 10.9% 17.1%
USA 314.31 36.9 33.7% $ 15,653.4 7.9% $ 43,500 8.2% 2.0% 1.0%

9. The “No Strategy” Comment: My beef with President Obama is his words are too divisive, he believes in big-government
solutions and seems to know next to nothing about how business really works. I prefer a President
working to unify the nation, reduce the size of government and expand personal freedoms and jobs. That said, the
criticism over the “No strategy” comment is wrong. There are strategies for engaging ISIL militarily but an exit strategy
is far more difficult: It’s easy to get into the fight but hard to get out.
In addition, the Arab nations can stop a 10,000 or 40,000 man ISIL army with the firepower they have and minimal US
and NATO support. The Arabs have a combined Active Military that is 81% larger than the US with 5,214 aircraft, 21,532
tanks, and 60,224 Armed Vehicles. (Source: http://www.globalfirepower.com). The US is set to reduce the Army to
levels last seen in 1940, the Air Force to be smaller than 1947 and the Navy to its 1917-size and this President is not
going to reverse those trends. The US will engage on a limited basis until there’s a new President or an attack on the
homeland. Obama will take that risk instead of going down in history as the 4th US President to launch a war in Iraq.
Active Military Active Reserve Aircraft Fighter Planes Tanks Armed Vehicles
Bahrain 13,000 112,500 105 25 180 277
Egypt 468,500 800,000 1 ,100 343 4,767 18,986
Iran 545,000 1 ,800,000 481 134 2,409 1,550
Iraq 271,500 528,500 212 - 357 4,070
Jordan 110,700 65,000 246 74 1,321 4,600
Kuwait 15,500 31,000 101 27 368 932
Lebanon 131,100 280,700 57 - 318 1,603
Oman 72,000 20,000 101 8 215 1,040
Qatar 11,800 - 72 9 90 440
Saudi Arabia 233,500 25,000 652 229 1,095 7,202
Syria 178,000 570,000 473 216 4,950 5,155
Turkey 410,500 185,630 989 254 3,657 8,532
United Arab Emirates 65,000 - 444 93 545 2,880
Yemen 66,700 71,200 181 83 1,260 2,957
Total Arab 2 ,592,800 4 ,489,530 5 ,214 1,495 21,532 60,224
Israel 176,500 445,000 680 243 3,870 9,436
Total Region 2 ,769,300 4 ,934,530 5 ,894 1,738 25,402 69,660
USA 1 ,430,000 850,880 13,683 2,271 8,325 25,782

10. General Comments:
Heaven: Western cultures are built on Judeo-Christian traditions and teach their children Heaven comes through
the Grace of God (faith, charity, and love). Radical Muslims, estimated 5%-15% of all Muslims, teach Heaven can be
earned by fighting Infidels and even committing homicide through suicide. Note, the Muslims I know consider
Radicalism to be ugly and dangerous, nothing scares them more.
Government: The First Amendment separates religion and government. Many Muslims, not just Radicals, find the
complete separation of church and state a strange concept, as did our Founding Fathers. Muslims reason it’s
impossible (actually it’s a sin) to exclude God from decisions affecting society. There’s a reason politicians, including
President Obama, still end speeches with, “God bless the United States of America.”
Violence as a Weapon: Normal people hate violence. The bad guys know that and use it. They commit terrible acts
to scare us and promote themselves, they’re sick. But what do you do when there’s a shark in the water and your
child is swimming nearby. Two things, get the child out of the water and kill the shark. What you don’t do is study
the shark, try to bribe it or reason with it. It’s a shark! The same is true of terrorist; no matter their beef. You kill
them too! You don’t play, reason, or delay your actions with killers (see why below). Bush was right.
• In Britain a soldier is beheaded in the street.
• American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff beheaded.
Immigration: In Europe the French want to remain French and the Italians want to stay Italian and both want to
celebrate their histories. Americans are no different. The EU has weakened traditional borders and the US seems to
be following. In response some European politicians use culture-anxiety to stir-up anti-Semitism and Islamophobia
to divide voters for personal gain – vote for me and I’ll get the bastards. It’s dangerous and needs to stop before
extreme views become more common in the US - two examples:
• In Greece the Neo-Nazi party gives Muslims “one month to leave the country or be slaughtered.”
• In France conservative politician Marine Le Pen wants to ban “Muslim headscarves and Jewish kipahs.”