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02-06-2009, 11:57 PM
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Jordan's role in Israel's 1948 war of independence
Some days ago Cutthemdown and I had a vigorous debate about the role of Jordan's Arab Legion in the 1948 war between Israel and the surrounding Arab states.
Cut argued that the Arab Legion was just another of the foreign armies that invaded Israel with an eye to destroying the just-declared Jewish state. My position was that Israel's leader David ben Gurion had worked out a secret agreement with Jordan's Kng Abdallah to keep Jordan out of the war. Ben Gurion's goal -- I argued -- was to reduce the number of fronts in the war from three to two -- and thus increase the Haganah's chances for victory. The Haganah was the Zionist army, the forerunner of the IDF. In recent days I've been reviewing the history of the war. I'm back to report that my original position was essentially correct, although it is also true -- as Cut argued -- that the Arab Legion did fight in the war. Here is what happened: There was secret diplomacy between the Zionists and King Abdallah. Ben Gurion sent his emissary Golda Meir to Amman to negotiate with Abdallah -- on two occasions. Meir dressed like an Arab to avoid detection. King Abdallah was not a supporter of the Paletsinian national cause. He simply wanted to annex the West Bank, which the 1947 UN partition plan assigned to the Palestinians. The W Bank and other parts of Palestine (part of the Negev in the south and the Galilee in the north) were to become the future Palestinian state. But Abdallah and the Zionists had other plans. The Zionists decided it was in their short term interest to ally with Jordan and allow Aballah to expand his kingdom west of the Jordan River. Of course, some Zionists were not happy with this strategy, because the long term Zionist plan was to sieze all of Palestine -- eastward to the Jordan River (and even beyond). There are many biblical sites in the W Bank. It is the nucleus of the ancient kingdom of David and Solomon. Naturally, the Zionists wanted to sieze the W Bank for this reason. But ben Gurion was a pragmatist and he persuaded the rest that an alliance with Abdallah was essential in the short term. Ben Gurion knew his military forces could easily defeat the combined armies of Syria, Iraq and Egypt. But Jordan had the best army in the Arab world - the British armed and trained Arab Legion -- and it was essential to keep this effective fighting force out of the war. This was the Zionist plan -- and there is no doubt Abdallah intended to keep his part of the bargain. It was in his self interest to do so. However, events took a somewhat different turn. Within weeks of passage of the November 1947 UN Partition Plan, the Zionists launched their master plan (plan "D") to ethnically cleanse the Palestinians from numerous villages and cities in Palestine. The ethnic cleansing started in December 1947 and continued without relent for many months. This is the crucial part of the history that has generally been left out of the "official" accounts. Remember, the Arab states did not attack Israel until after the British completed their pullout on May 15, 1948. This was the day the British mandate officially ended -- and within hours of this the Arab armies attacked. However, it is of crucial importance that the Zionists proceeded with their cleansing operations all during the intervening 5 months from the passage of the partition plan in Nov 1947 until the Briish mandate ended in May. During this period they drove an estimated 250,000 Palestinians from their homes into exile. The Arab Legion entered the W Bank with the intention of simply occupying it -- with no plans to attack the Zionist army. However, the Zionists were not satisfied with their part of the partition, and in the interim also began cleansing Arab neighborhoods in West Jerusalem, which, recall, was slated to become an open international city under the UN partition plan. Indeed, the Zionist attacks in Jersalem prove that Israel had no intention of abiding by the UN plan. Word of what was happening quickly reached Abdallah. The Arabs in Jerusalem -- under attack -- called for him to come to their assistance, and this is what happened. The Arab Legion was drawn into the fighting in Jerusalem -- and prevented the Zionists from siezing the entire city. The Legion also engaged the Zionists along the approaches to Jerusalem, as ben Gurion attempted to send supplies and reinforcements to the city. Yet, it is a fact that during the war the Arab Legion never moved outside the part of Palestine which had been designated for the Palestinian state. It never engaged the Zionists in the coastal zone -- which was the Jewish portion of Palestine. There was no attempt to drive the Jews into the sea. Abdallah clear;y iunderstood that the Zionists were too strong to defeat -- and he was prepared to live and let live. If there had been no ethnic cleansing in Jerusalem the Arab Legion woud simply have occupied the W Bank. So that's the history. My sources are 1948: The FIRST ARAB-ISRAELI WAR (2007) by Benny Morris and THE ETHNIC CLEANSING OF PALESTINE (2006) by Ilan Pappe. Both authors are Israeli historians. Both are excellent sources. Morris must be taken with a grain of caution because even though he admits the atrocities and cleansing operations by Israel he still tries to portray Israel in the best possible light. Pappe's account is a brave attempt to tell the truthful and painful story of how Israel doive nearly 800,000 Palestinians from their homes in 1947-48. Pappe had to leave Israel for his own safety after the book was released. His book is a must read for anyone who wants to know the true history of the Arab-Israeli conflict. Here is some info about it: The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine [ILLUSTRATED] (Paperback) by Ilan Pappe (Author) • Paperback: 320 pages • Publisher: Oneworld Publications (September 25, 2007) • Language: English • ISBN-10: 1851685553 • ISBN-13: 978-1851685554 Reviews "Ground breaking research into a well kept Israeli secret. A classic of historical scholarship on a taboo subject by one of Israel's foremost New Historians." -- Ghada Karmi - Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies, University of Exeter, England, UK "Ilan Pappe is Israel's bravest, most principled, most incisive historian." -- John Pilger - author, journalist, and filmmaker "Leading Israeli historian Ilan Pappe delves into his country's bloodied past in search of answers in the present." -- Morning Star, 25 April, 2008 "If not the last word, this is a major intervention in an argument that will, and must, continue. There's no hope of lasting Middle East peace while the ghosts of 1948 still walk." - The Independent "Ilan Pappe is Israel's bravest, most principled, most incisive historian." - John Pilger "Ground breaking research into a well kept Israeli secret. A classic of historical scholarship on a taboo subject by one of Israel's foremost New Historians." - Ghada Karmi, Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies, University of Exeter, England Ground breaking research into a well kept Israeli secret. A classic of historical scholarship on a taboo subject by one of Israel's foremost New Historians. -- Ghada Karmi - Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies, Pappe has opened up an important new line of inquiry into the vast and fateful subject of the Palestinian refugees. His book is rewarding in other ways. It has at times an elegiac, even sentimental, character, recalling the lost, obliterated life of the Palestinian Arabs and imagining or regretting what Pappe believes could have been a better land of Palestine. -- Times Literary Supplement, 04/26/2007 |
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02-06-2009, 11:59 PM
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#2 |
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here's the book cover:
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02-07-2009, 05:01 AM
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#3 |
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A verbis ad verbera
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Long Beach
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Like I said I have Jewish friends who say there fathers fought against Jordanian troops in that war. I could care less how you spin it or what book you quote to try and diminish that fact.
Not to mention the Arab Legion was just a name given to an army comprised from many nations, but under Jordanian command. I have to admit I don't anything about whether or not there was some deal to supposedly keep them out of war but the fact are Jordan was part of this war. All the countries we were part of it owe the Palestinians IMO land and money. |
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02-07-2009, 05:06 AM
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#4 |
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A verbis ad verbera
Join Date: Mar 2006
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by the way however you spin it I was right you were wrong. Jordanian troops fought in the 1948 war. You can spin the reasons why they did it to fit your dogma but you can't avoid the fact I was right and you were wrong. Just admit it, you don't know as much about this as you say you do. You only the history from books with a warped perspective.
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02-07-2009, 08:53 AM
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#5 |
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Spin? Dogma? Baloney.
No -- what I described above is a close approximation what happened -- based on studies by leading Jewish historians. You can continue to misunderstand and misrepresent what happened. You are free to be just another ignorant American. You can continue with the apologetics for Israel. Lord knows we have seen enough of it here in the US in recent days. But the fact is that the Palestinians lost their country in 1948 because of Zionist aggression. It was taken from them. Today, ethnic cleansing is a well defined crime against humanity -- and what happened in 1947-48 easily meets the definition. You are confusing the Arab League and the Arab Legion. The Arab League was the alliance of Arab states. The Arab Legion was the army of Jordan -- trained and armed by the British. In fact, if the Jordanian army had not occupied the W Bank -- there is no doubt but that the Zionists would have attacked and occupied that as well. In fact, they tried in 1948 -- and failed. The Arab Legion actually defeated the Zionists in a number of engagements -- but as I said these were all defensive actions - - - within the portion Palestine designated by the UN to become the Palestinian state. As we know -- the Zionists went on to sieze the rest of Palestine in 1967 -- in the six day war. It was a land grab -- a war of aggression pure and simple - -though the Zionists have convinced Americans of just the opposite. The Zionists covered up their crimes by rewriting history. And you -- the boob you are -- have fallen for it. The Zionists are the masters of spin -- not me and not the Palestinians. The hapless Palestinians have zero influence in the halls of power here in the US -- and no influence over the US media. MHG |
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02-07-2009, 09:00 AM
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#6 |
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Here again is the map of Palestine. The second map is the 1947 UN Partition Plan. Notice in the third map -- which gives the picture after the 1948 war -- that the W Bank is considerably shrunken as compared with map number two. This is because as I said above the Zionists did attack the portion of Palestine which had been designated by the UN to become the Palestinian state.
They captured parts of it -- whittled it down. But most remained in the control of Jordan's Arab Legion -- until the 1967 war . |
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02-07-2009, 01:06 PM
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#7 |
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I'm curious Gaff, if you care so much about the Palestinians, why don't you go over there and offer help?
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02-07-2009, 06:19 PM
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#8 |
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I have friends and acquaintances who have done peace work in the occupied territories. They inspire me. But I am primarily a writer -- so I work in this sphere.
Even so -- if I could speak Arabic -- I'd seriously consider it. MHG |
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02-07-2009, 06:21 PM
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Nixonite
Join Date: Aug 2001
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Quote:
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ITS A PLAYOFF HOCKEY NIGHT IN PITTSBURGH! |
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02-07-2009, 06:22 PM
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A new beginning!
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Adopt-a-Bronco: Watermock - RIP |
Translated posts of MHG = Buy My Book
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02-07-2009, 06:26 PM
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Quote:
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02-07-2009, 06:41 PM
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#12 |
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Dukes and Apa,
Do you guys read and speak the English language? Whose book am I promoting, here? Mine? No, I don't think so. If you had read the post at the top of this thread you would know this. But obviously, you don't cause you didn't. Why not? I'm not bashful. I'll state the reason. You two are just a couple of kneejerks who don't give a damn about anything in this world if it lies outside your personal comfort zone. Wake up to the world! The only thing you have to lose is your ignorance. Great day in the morning. MHG |
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02-07-2009, 06:55 PM
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#13 | |
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02-07-2009, 10:02 PM
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Tastee Freeze
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Quote:
http://www.rosettastone.com/personal/languages/arabic |
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02-07-2009, 10:08 PM
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#15 | |
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Nixonite
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__________________
ITS A PLAYOFF HOCKEY NIGHT IN PITTSBURGH! |
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02-07-2009, 10:25 PM
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#16 | ||||||
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Nixonite
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Gosh golly, there's no evidence that you've been pimping your books here. I'm sure that we are ALL wrong and we all made this up out of thin air, right? Quote:
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ITS A PLAYOFF HOCKEY NIGHT IN PITTSBURGH! |
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02-08-2009, 01:49 AM
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#17 | ||
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Gaffney's book on 9/11 goes to press
Quote:
Thread Title : Gaffney's book on 9/11 goes to press By: mhgaffney http://www.orangemane.com/BB/showthread.php?t=70821 Quote:
Last edited by TDmvp; 02-08-2009 at 01:53 AM.. |
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