@georgeob1,
georgeob1 wrote: Notably Islam experienced no secular enlightenment and no religious reformation as did Europe (though science, learning and religious disagreements abounded) and importantly no tradition of nation states, distinct from religious authority. These Islamic Empires, owing to their geographic situation, also controlled trade between the, adjacent to them, Eastern and Western worlds.
The idea of a 'nation state' wasn't to be found in Europe either ... until, perhaps, late 18th century (in France and England).
So that's really no difference at all - at least not until a couple of decades ago.
georgeob1 wrote: The United States was not the agent of Islamic suppression. It is true that we foolishly aided the British & French in destroying the Ottoman Empire by our assistance in WWI (we put a million troops in Europe while they withdrew about 700,000 for transfer to Palestine): we even more foolishly aided our British ally by providing muscle to their overthrow of Iran’s Mohammed Mossadegh so they could impose a continued 90-10 split of the profits of British Petroleum in Iran (as opposed to the 50-50 deal we had just negotiated with Saudi Arabia) - The British Labor government needed the money to pay welfare benefits in Britain.
Well, this is one of your favourite topics, isn't it?
However, your infos are only partly correct.
In fact, BP was indeed one of the first companies to exploit Iraqui oil.
The 25-years concession contract fro 1925, however, was granted to a consortium, 23.75% owned by BP, while the rest was shared between other British, French and US-American companies. (In the so-called "Turkish Petroleum Company", later becoming the "Iraq Petroleum Company", the companies which later became Shell and Total hold 23.75% as well; forbears of Exxon and Mobil hold another 23.75%; the deal fixer Calouste Gulbenkian hold the rest of 5%.
