There is a common saying that says that history has a way of repeating itself. Sometimes people are able to learn from the mistakes that were made in the past, and sometimes they are not able to learn from these mistakes and go on to make even greater errors in judgment. This paper will review the article, "Forty Years in the Sand" (2005), by Karl E. Meyer to see if the United States is repeating the mistakes made by Great Britain about 100 years ago. First, the article and its point of view will be summarized, followed by a response with opposing opinions and a brief conclusion.
In the article, "Forty Years in the Sand" (2005) by Meyer, he believes that the current involvement of the United States in Iraq is similar to the involvement of Great Britain in Iraq several decades ago. He describes the events leading up to the creation of the nation of Iraq in 1918, including Great Britain's involvement, their problems, and the resulting outcome during the post-World War II years.
According to Meyer, by the end of World War I, the Ottoman Empire had collapsed, with Great Britain's Anglo-Indian troops capturing Jerusalem and Baghdad, and France controlling Syria and Lebanon. While Saudi Arabia remained separate from most of this conflict, however, Egypt was also heavily influenced by Great Britain, as was Transjordan and Palestine, which had been set aside as a "national home" for the Jews (Meyer, 2005, p. 69). Meyer quotes George Nathaniel Curzon, a politician for Great Britain at the time, who said that Britain was "the greatest instrument for good the world has seen" (p. 69). He then points out a similar quote made by President George W. Bush in 2002: "Our nation is the greatest force for good in the century" (P. 69). These quotes help him to show how close the two situations are in nature.
Meyer also points out that one of the other most compelling similarities between Great Britain and the United States, is the reluc...