We post excerpts from Robert Fisk’s book The Great War for Civilization – the Conquest of the Middle East warning of things to come. The book was first published in 2005 and refers to a film made as long ago as 1993. – Ian Curr Ed., 20 July 2025.
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From Beirut to Bosnia, which attempted, in the words of our first episode, to show how Muslims were coming to hate the West`. We were filming exactly eight years before the attacks of 11 September 2001, and, rewatching the series today, it was made on real flm, not videotape, and cost more than 2 million dollars- I am ever more astonished at what it told viewers. For it turns out to have been a ghastly, unintended but all too accurate warning of September 11th.
In one segment, I walk into a burned-out mosque in Bosnia and and ask what the ‘Muslim world has in store for us’ adding that I should perhaps end each of my reports from the Middle East with the words Watch out!’
There are other similar premonitions of terrors to come, which were included in our coverage of the Israeli occupation of
Gaza and the West Bank. We were trying to answer the question why? before it needed to be asked.
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Our film, Beirut to Bosnia, would be a challenge not for American audiences who were perfectly mature enough to understand our film if given the chance to watch it- but for the US lobby groups which regularly set out to prevent showing of any documentary that presents Americans with an alternative to the pro- Israeli news’ regularly served up on US networks. Initial reports in the American media were faintly critical and often inaccurate.*
Then, only days after Discovery showed the three films coast-to coast, the letter-writing campaign began. Discovery first reported that some of advertisers were being pestered with telephone calls from supposedly outraged viewers.
American Express, one of the channel’s sponsors, received credit cards back from customers; the cards had been cut in half An outfit calling itself “Promoting Responsibility the in Middle had East’ route to discovery with a sinister warning.” – Robert Fisk the Great War for Civilization the Conquest of the Middle East.
Check out this video from this search, from Beirut to Bosnia Robert Fisk https://g.co/kgs/UotTfzx