Production Notes
by Marty Callaghan
One of my favorite all-time films is David
Lean’s 1962 masterpiece, Lawrence of Arabia. The factual accuracy of this
work may be questionable, but the depiction of Colonel T.E. Lawrence’s exploits
in the Arabian Desert during World War One left an indelible impression on my
mind: I wanted to explore the subject further. I began to study the great war
against the Ottoman Empire, and the subsequent creation of artificial “spheres
of influence” by France and Great Britain. I began to realize that a direct
relationship exists between U.S. troops fighting and dying in Iraq today, and
the political aftermath of World War I in the Middle East.
The idea for the documentary, Blood and Oil, occurred to me about three
years ago. While many outstanding programs about the Great War have already been
produced, they usually focus on the Western Front and the terrible waste of
humanity in the trenches of France. When fighting in the Middle East is
mentioned, the Gallipoli campaign – and the exploits of Lawrence in the Arab
Revolt – are the main topics covered.
However, the Middle East struggle takes in an expansive and complex theater of
operations, ranging from the Dardanelles Straits to the oil fields in Baku, on
the Caspian Sea. The battles – military and political – feature several
intriguing key players: Turkish Minister of War Enver Pasha, British General
Edmund Allenby, German General Liman von Sanders, Arabian Prince Feisal, and
Turkish General Mustafa Kemal. The Ottoman Empire became the target of invasion
not only by the British, but also French, Russian, Greek and Armenian forces.
While desperately fighting off the invasion at Gallipoli, the Ottoman Army also
faced Russian invaders from the east, and British-East Indian troops in both
Palestine and Iraq. How the Turks – with fewer men, artillery and resources –
managed to hold out over four years of intensive combat is truly a remarkable
story.
When the battles stopped on the Western Front in November 1918, the war in the
Middle East went on – another four years of brutal combat, fought in
temperatures ranging from 150 degrees in Iraq to 30 degrees below zero in the
Caucasus. A Turkish nationalist movement, led by Mustafa Kemal, rejected the
Anglo-French plan to carve up the Ottoman Empire among themselves and their
allies. A new Turkish Army rose from the ashes of defeat. First, it drove
Armenian forces out of eastern Turkey, then turned back French and Armenian
troops in the south. Finally, Kemal launched a counter-offensive against a Greek
Army invading from the west – all of this, while Europe began to recover in its
newfound peace.
Turkey fought back to reclaim its homeland, much to the surprise of Europe. But
France and Great Britain found other lands to dominate with post-war politics.
New nations were created, their borders dictated by European greed for land and
oil. Without much regard for the region’s history, culture, religion and
ethnicity, artificial states emerged: Palestine, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Iran, and
Saudi Arabia. These “nations” secured the interests of France and Great Britain,
but not the interests of the Muslim inhabitants: Sunnis, Shias, Arabs and a host
of others.
Thus, the stage was set for political instability and violent struggle in the
Middle East that continues to the present day. Western interests continue to
collide with Muslim factions that are fueled by hatred toward the West. It is
difficult to ignore some parallels between the distant and recent past. Places
such as Basra, Baghdad, Mosul and Gaza are the scenes of struggle and foreign
occupation, just as they were nine decades ago. The civil war that now rages in
Iraq is reminiscent of Muslim revolts against British troops in 1920, and again
in 1925.
The West continues to intervene in the Middle East, to support friendly
governments and ensure the flow of oil to European and U.S. economies. Most
recently, the United States sent troops to Iraq, but the same thing happened
back in November 1914. When Britain declared war against the Ottoman Empire, the
very first thing it did was to land troops near Basra to protect the oil fields
in nearby Iran. Later in the war, the British captured Mosul – just as U.S.
forces did in 2003 – to make certain that rich Iraqi oil reserves were covered
by the Union Jack.
To understand more clearly as to why the Middle East remains embroiled in
strife, we only need to examine the historical record. Blood and Oil
chronicles the immensity of a horrific military struggle and its tremendous
impact on the entire world. The seeds of discontent in the Middle East were sown
90 years ago, via military conquest and political domination from Europe.
Unfortunately, those seeds have grown into a fearful harvest that continues to
feed radicals, fanatics and terrorists in the Muslim World.