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Veteran journalist, writer and Middle East expert, Dilip Hiro was in Delhi some time back. The London-based author has published over 27 books, a majority of them centred around the Middle East and India’s colonial past. He’s recently brought out a book on contemporary Iran titled, Iran Today. Earlier in 2005, he brought out an intriguing work Secrets and Lies: The True Story of the Iraq War. Both the books were published by Methuen UK and distributed by Research Press. Very recently, Dilip Hiro translated Babur’s memoirs, Baburnama, published by Penguin India in a concise volume. Charu Singh, caught up with the author for an interesting tete-a-tete at the India International Centre, Delhi. What made you start writing on the Middle East? Well, having done a lot of writing on Indian and British relations, basically colonial history, I was looking for something more complex. This was definitely the Middle East. My first book on the Middle East was published in 1982. I also wrote a book on the Emergency, Inside India Today. What fascinates you about the Middle East to write so many books on it? If you live in the western world, which is predominantly Christian and Jewish, then interest in the Middle East is natural. The West is essentially monotheistic as people in the Western world are mostly Christian or Jewish but the origins of both these religions lie in the Middle-East, so it was natural for me to get interested. My interest arose out of the religion of the people among whom I lived and the other factor was, of course, the oil dynamics. Further, the fact that the Middle East also happens to be probably the most violent region in the world since World War II also caught my interest. The wars fought in this region were an added fascination for me whether it was the Iranian Revolution of 1979, the eight-year Iran-Iraq war or, more recently, Operation Desert Shield and its impact on the region. Can you elaborate? Look at how the oil price increase of the 1973 war impacted India. This period saw widespread recession in the West. It was at this time that I wrote Inside the Middle-East and since then I have written 14 more books on this subject. You have been prolific. What was the research that went into writing Secrets and Lies: The True Story of the Iraq War? I wasn’t physically present in the Middle East when the US-Iraq war happened but I was writing the novel simultaneously. I started writing as soon as the war broke out and finished by October 2003. The book was released in the UK a year back. Where do you see Iraq headed in the near future? I see Iraq going to hell now. Before the war happened I had forecast, as did other experts, that if war happens the Sunnis, Shias and Kurds will fight against each other, leading to civil war conditions. This has not happened as yet but will happen soon. Iraq’s situation today is like that joke: A head surgeon approached by relatives was asked about the patient’s condition. He replied that the operation has been successful but the patient is dead. The Iraq operation was a big success in military terms. In three weeks the Army had wrapped up the war but there is no doubt that Iraq as a nation died. Don’t you think terror groups have brought the Iraq war home to the US and UK? This is so, unfortunately. The West is not united against the terror threat. I strongly feel that removing Saddam was a big mistake, he did have Iraq under a semblance of control. Consequently, the Iraq war has now produced a clash of civilisations and not merely a war, people all over are affected by this. Also, 87 per cent oil reserves are in Islamic countries and a clash with the Middle East is very bad for the West. By doing what they’ve done in Iraq things are worse then ever. Islamic fundamentalism is out of control and has spread out of Afghanistan. Iraq today has become an incubator for Islamic terrorism. Are you working on a new book? I am writing a book on the looming oil crisis. If a civil war breaks out in Iraq it will have repercussions all over. What do you feel is a sensible solution to the Iraq problem? The only solution now is that the Anglo-Americans should withdraw from Iraq in stages and the UN Security Council should go the Arab League and the Organisation of Islamic Conferences (OIC) and ask them to take over peace-keeping operations from the US. This withdrawal is essential as Iraqis need about two to three years to work out their differences. They need time to re-adjust and there will be no peace as long there are infidel western troops in Iraq. They are the cause of violence and their presence is inflammatory. To make matters worse they behave like armed thugs. If you remove the cause, the effect disappears. |
