Devil's Game
Encyclopedia
Devil's Game: How the United States Helped Unleash Fundamentalist Islam is a book by Robert Dreyfuss
, an investigative journalist. It discusses how Western governments supported the growth of Islamic radicals for several purposes.
, as outlined below.
in order to sabotage the efforts of Pro-Soviet Arab Nationalist leaders such as Abdul Nasser
of Egypt
. The goals of Abdul Nasser were to end Western domination and control in the Middle East. This was a great threat to Western interests, who used the Islamic brotherhood to destabilize the Nassar government. The Islamic Brotherhood continues to conduct terrorist activities in Egypt.
. With the close support and advice of CIA paramilitaries, these Islamic jihadists helped defeat Soviet forces in Afghanistan. The book also describes the work of Dr. Bernard Lewis and his model of Islamic Balkanization, where the CIA secretly supported Islamic movements within the Soviet Union
to utilize them as Anti-Communist insurgents in the event of war. The consequence of this CIA program is the present-day Islamic Chechan separatist conflict that the Russians are fighting.
as a tool to fight the Palestine Liberation Organization
(PLO). The PLO was always viewed as the major threat to Israel, because they were the more educated and secular Palestinians. They had fought a very effective campaign against Israel, whereas Hamas has had very limited success. The book predicts the current Palestianian crisis where (PLO) Fatah and Hamas militias battled each other in the streets of Gaza
and in other parts of Palestine for dominance over the Palestinian people. Dreyfuss claims that the political and economic isolation of Hamas is currently suffocating the new government. Gaza is running out of gas and public workers have not been paid for many months. This has been a strategic victory for Israel in a classic example of divide and conquer
.
Vanessa Bush for the American Library Association
described it as "well-researched and insightful."
L. Carl Brown in Foreign Affairs
, criticized the book's emphasis, arguing that the US has also opposed Islamic fundamentalism on many occasions, and that the author would have done better to focus on America's "excessively intrusive, regime-changing approach to the Middle East" instead.
Robert Dreyfuss
Robert Dreyfuss is a freelance investigative journalist whose work has appeared in The Nation, Rolling Stone, Mother Jones, The American Prospect, and other progressive publications. His work also appears on line at TomPaine.com....
, an investigative journalist. It discusses how Western governments supported the growth of Islamic radicals for several purposes.
Contents
The book addresses a number of different Middle Eastern interventions made by the WestWestern world
The Western world, also known as the West and the Occident , is a term referring to the countries of Western Europe , the countries of the Americas, as well all countries of Northern and Central Europe, Australia and New Zealand...
, as outlined below.
Islamic Radicalism as a tool against Pro-Soviet Pan-Arabism
The book discusses how Western governments supported the growth of the Muslim BrotherhoodMuslim Brotherhood
The Society of the Muslim Brothers is the world's oldest and one of the largest Islamist parties, and is the largest political opposition organization in many Arab states. It was founded in 1928 in Egypt by the Islamic scholar and schoolteacher Hassan al-Banna and by the late 1940s had an...
in order to sabotage the efforts of Pro-Soviet Arab Nationalist leaders such as Abdul Nasser
Gamal Abdel Nasser
Gamal Abdel Nasser Hussein was the second President of Egypt from 1956 until his death. A colonel in the Egyptian army, Nasser led the Egyptian Revolution of 1952 along with Muhammad Naguib, the first president, which overthrew the monarchy of Egypt and Sudan, and heralded a new period of...
of Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
. The goals of Abdul Nasser were to end Western domination and control in the Middle East. This was a great threat to Western interests, who used the Islamic brotherhood to destabilize the Nassar government. The Islamic Brotherhood continues to conduct terrorist activities in Egypt.
Support of Islamic Radicalism as an Anti-Communist strategy
Dreyfuss also discusses how the West used Islamic radicalism to suppress Communist movements in the Middle East and the rest of the Islamic world. He provides a comprehensive review of the support of Western governments for the Mujahadeen and Jihadi Islamic fighters, who were trained and sent into AfghanistanAfghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
. With the close support and advice of CIA paramilitaries, these Islamic jihadists helped defeat Soviet forces in Afghanistan. The book also describes the work of Dr. Bernard Lewis and his model of Islamic Balkanization, where the CIA secretly supported Islamic movements within the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
to utilize them as Anti-Communist insurgents in the event of war. The consequence of this CIA program is the present-day Islamic Chechan separatist conflict that the Russians are fighting.
Islamic Radicalism as a divisive tactic
The author also discusses how the Israeli government supported the growth of HamasHamas
Hamas is the Palestinian Sunni Islamic or Islamist political party that governs the Gaza Strip. Hamas also has a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades...
as a tool to fight the Palestine Liberation Organization
Palestine Liberation Organization
The Palestine Liberation Organization is a political and paramilitary organization which was created in 1964. It is recognized as the "sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people" by the United Nations and over 100 states with which it holds diplomatic relations, and has enjoyed...
(PLO). The PLO was always viewed as the major threat to Israel, because they were the more educated and secular Palestinians. They had fought a very effective campaign against Israel, whereas Hamas has had very limited success. The book predicts the current Palestianian crisis where (PLO) Fatah and Hamas militias battled each other in the streets of Gaza
Gaza
Gaza , also referred to as Gaza City, is a Palestinian city in the Gaza Strip, with a population of about 450,000, making it the largest city in the Palestinian territories.Inhabited since at least the 15th century BC,...
and in other parts of Palestine for dominance over the Palestinian people. Dreyfuss claims that the political and economic isolation of Hamas is currently suffocating the new government. Gaza is running out of gas and public workers have not been paid for many months. This has been a strategic victory for Israel in a classic example of divide and conquer
Divide and conquer
Divide and conquer may refer to:* Divide and rule, in politics, sociology and economics, a strategy to gain or maintain power...
.
Critical reception
Publisher's Weekly gave the book a "Starred Review", stating that it "reaches farther and deeper into the subject than most".Vanessa Bush for the American Library Association
American Library Association
The American Library Association is a non-profit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with more than 62,000 members....
described it as "well-researched and insightful."
L. Carl Brown in Foreign Affairs
Foreign Affairs
Foreign Affairs is an American magazine and website on international relations and U.S. foreign policy published since 1922 by the Council on Foreign Relations six times annually...
, criticized the book's emphasis, arguing that the US has also opposed Islamic fundamentalism on many occasions, and that the author would have done better to focus on America's "excessively intrusive, regime-changing approach to the Middle East" instead.