The events of invasions that the Arab world faced throughout its long history reveal that invaders often came with seemingly 'noble' intentions. Once they settled, their real goals emerged, usually economic, religious, geo-strategic, or a mix of these. When Napoleon Bonaparte invaded Egypt, he aimed to establish a colony near his country after France lost its American colonies. His plan was to disrupt the British Empire's route to India. Failing this, he propagated the notion of 'modernizing' Egypt and 'liberating' it from the Mamluks, hoping such pretexts would keep him in Egypt. In Algeria, the French claimed they had come to save the people from the tyranny of the local 'Beys' and modernize the country, promising a short stay. However, they remained for 130 years, considering Algeria as a French province. In recent history, the Zionists asserted they entered Palestine to bring advancement and provide medical and educational services to Palestinians, but they seized the natives' lands and established their discriminatory state. The British argued they would form a united Arab state if the Arabs joined the Allies in World War I, yet Palestine was lost due to the Balfour Declaration, and the Arab world was fragmented by the Sykes-Picot Agreement, a division that persists today. The United States claims its occupation of Iraq was to spread 'democracy,' although it is visibly clear how it has destroyed the nation physically and socially. The Arab weakness continues to lure colonizers and dominators to our region. This weakness is not just about lacking arms or resistance but about the political culture that prevailed and still prevails in our lands. True dominance resides in minds, not through weapons and military force. The victor always seeks to persuade the vanquished of the futility of resistance, thus controlling them at minimal cost, with the consent of the defeated themselves. A sign of our political culture's weakness is our perpetual lament over the June 1967 defeat, attributing our actions and inactions since then to it. By contrast, the Japanese and Germans lost a world war without losing their culture, and thanks to this, they lead in global economic and technological advancements.

Publishing house: Arab Scientific Publishers/Lebanon Number of Pages: 160 Year of publication: 2007