How did Western Powers During WWI Ignite the Conflict we see Today?

[Pittsburgh, PA - Nov. 2, 2006] Filmmaker Marty Callaghan felt it was time that a film provide more detail on the expansive and complex theater of operations that took place in the Middle East during WW I. Blood and Oil - The Middle East in World War I examines the devastating conflict and Western political intrigue that laid the foundation for wars, coups, revolts and military interventions in the Middle East. The effects on the Arab world have lasted for 85 years, and as told by Osama bin Laden, ultimately led to bombings of American Embassies and 9/11.

In past films of the Great War, primary Middle Eastern battles portrayed were the Gallipoli campaign – and the exploits of T.E. Lawrence in the Arab Revolt.  Over the years, filmmakers from America, England and France have been politically cautious not to provide complex details, but Callaghan names names and gives finite details on war operations in the Middle East, ranging from the Dardanelles Straits to the oil fields in Baku, on the Caspian Sea.

The battles – military and political – feature numerous, intriguing key players, and details of how France and Great Britain dominated the Middle East, dictated borders and created new nations - driven by 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.

Callaghan's close study of this conflict provides two important lessons:

1. The Treaty of Versailles, agreed to by the Western Powers in 1919, paved the way for military and political chaos in the Middle East, which continues to this very day.

2. Oil reserves in the Middle East became an important strategic concern for Western Powers, helping to justify their economic, diplomatic and military interference in the region.

In early October 2001, just days after the 9/11 World Trade Center bombing, Osama bin Laden distributed video comments to the world. His comments mirrored the impact felt by the Middle East for the past 85 years, as documented in Callaghan's film. An article that appeared in Slate details this tie-in (click here).