Gordon Burt

The European empire system … Iran … parallel histories

The European empire system …

… Scotland and slavery

… The Palestine Police Force, 1920-1948

… the Aden Emergency, 1963-1967

… the making of modern Asia

… Iran; and the British and Russian empires

USA: most Olympic golds; biggest bombs, 1945, 2017, 2025

USA bombing of Iran …

… USA, Iran, UK, , France, Russia, China, UN

War and world society (my report June 2024)

Controversial history … parallel histories

The European empire system …

For some time I have been interested in nations, empires and empire systems – and in their conceptions in relation to self and other, and positive and negative. Last year I started using the phrases, “the European system” and “the European empire system”.

Olympics 2024 … first North Asia, then Europe then Europe Empire System (21pages)

The European system … Brics and Commonwealth … One Family

Has there been a “decline of violence in history”?

Decline of death … decline of violent death? … power and the European System

Love China, Love USA … “no suggestion of wrongdoing”

A number of news items in the past week have prompted me to return to this notion.

… Scotland and slavery

“As the first black professor in Scotland, Sir Geoff Palmer argued that the perception of Scots as more tolerant of immigrants than their English neighbours was a “myth” while fighting to raise awareness of Scotland’s role in the slave trade. “If you look at the Jamaican telephone directory, 60 per cent of the names are Scottish” …

… Robert Burns applied to be a slave master in Jamaica.” ”

“Sir Geoff Palmer. 1940-2025. Member of the Windrush generation who overcame prejudice to become Scotland’s first black professor and university chancellor.” The Times, June 19 2025: 45.

In view of the above my paper on Burns last year requires some modification.

Love everybody; understand everybody … Robert Burns, 1759-1796

… The Palestine Police Force, 1920-1948

Ted Horne has died, aged 103.

“After the collapse of the centuries-old Ottoman Empire, the British had been mandated to by the league of nations in 1920 to provide a civil administration in Palestine. From this emerged the PPF, which was overseen by the British and staffed by Muslim, Christian and Jewish officers.”

A Job Well Done. The Palestine Police Force, 1920-1948. Ted Horne. 1982.

https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/1500048215

BPPA. http://britishpalestinepolice.org.uk/

“Ted Horne. 1921-2025.Palestine Police Force intelligence officer in Nablus during the British mandate.” The Times, June 19 2025: 47.

The religious affiliation in Palestine in 1926 is given in:

Chapter 8 History; Part 2; citing Alfred Wiener, 1927

Israel and Palestine: self and other, positive and negative; 2023

The same source gives (in 1926):

.Table The Palestine police

. Engl. Other … … … Total

. Moh Christ Jud All

.officer 48 45 17 15 77 125

.under-officer 21 108 24 22 154 175

.Schutzleute 176 875 226 175 1276 1452

Total 245 1028 267 212 1507 1752

… the Aden Emergency, 1963-1967

“… the climax of the Aden insurgency. On June 1, there was a general strike throughout the colony in which both the communist-backed National Liberation Front and the rival Arab Nationalist Front for the Liberation of Occupied South Yemen sought to thwart Britain’s attempt to establish a pro-western independent Federation of South Arabia.”

“Lieutenant Colonel Nick Emson. 1945-2025. Dashing officer who carried wounded comrades under fire in the Aden insurgency and was awarded the Military Cross.” The Times, June 16 2025: 42.

The Aden Emergency, 1963-1967

Imperial War Museum: https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/a-short-history-of-the-aden-emergency

… the making of modern Asia

Shattered lands: Five partitions and the Making of Modern Asia. Sam Dalrymple. William Collins. 2025.

“The map and the territory. This imperious, establishment view of the British Raj’s collapse is redeemed by its forgotten stories of Asia’s independence fighters.” Abhrajyoti Chakraborty. The Observer, 22 June 2025: 39.

https://observer.co.uk/culture/books/article/the-partitions-that-made-modern-asia

… Iran; and the British and Russian empires

“The Kajar dynasty (1794-1925) was marked largely by domination between Britain and Russia.” Macmillan Encyclopaedia. …

A new novel about rich Iranian women in America contains their memory of the 1941 invasion.

“They’d left Tehran early this year because there was word Iran could no longer stay neutral in a fight happening elsewhere. The British and the Soviets were bombing Tehran supposedly the German influence was too strong …”

The Persians. Sanam Mahloudji. 4th Estate: London. 2025 p. 45 [A novel]

I disapprove of an AI overview but here it is:

“The Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran in August 1941 involved bombing of Tehran and other cities. The invasion, codenamed Operation Countenance, was a joint effort by British and Soviet forces aimed at securing Iranian oil fields and supply lines for the Soviet Union fighting against Nazi Germany. While Iran was officially neutral, its monarch, Reza Shah, was seen as sympathetic to the Axis powers, leading to the invasion.”

Also Military History Now:

https://militaryhistorynow.com/2017/11/02/iran-vs-the-allies-the-persian-gulf-war-of-1941/

USA: most Olympic golds; biggest bombs, 1945, 2017, 2025

A nation’s Olympic success depends on its national strength which correlates with both peaceful strength and military strength. The greater the military strength the bigger the bomb.

1945: Hiroshima and Nagasaki

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atomic_bombings_of_Hiroshima_and_Nagasaki

2017: Trump’s Mother of All Bombs, Afghanistan

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-39598046

2025: President Trump announces successful US attack on three Iranian nuclear sites

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6374692585112

USA bombing of Iran …

BBC: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/ckg3rzj8emjt

Times of Israel: https://www.timesofisrael.com/

Al Jazeera: https://www.aljazeera.com/

President Trump announces successful US attack on three Iranian nuclear sites

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6374692585112

full text:

https://www.timesofisrael.com/full-text-of-trumps-speech-following-us-strikes-on-iranian-nuclear-facilities/

Other reactions were ambivalent, muted or condemnatory:

… Iran

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cpwq2vnd827o

… UK, PM Starmer

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cq53l41gl8jo

… France

https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2025/06/22/france-expresses-concern-over-us-strikes-on-iran_6742600_4.html#

… Russia

https://tass.com/politics/1978731

https://tass.com/world/1978639

… China

Foreign Ministry Spokesperson’s Remarks on the US Strikes on Iran’s Nuclear Facilities

By Chinese Foreign Ministry Published: Jun 22, 2025 07:21 PM

Q: US President Donald Trump announced that the US carried out strikes on three nuclear facilities in Iran—Fordow, Natanz and Esfahan. What's China's comment on this?

A: China strongly condemns the US attacks on Iran and bombing of nuclear facilities under the safeguards of the IAEA. The actions of the US seriously violate the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and international law, and have exacerbated tensions in the Middle East. China calls on the parties to the conflict, Israel in particular, to reach a ceasefire as soon as possible, ensure the safety of civilians, and start dialogue and negotiation. China stands ready to work with the international community to pool efforts together and uphold justice, and work for restoring peace and stability in the Mid

… UN

https://news.un.org/en/story/2025/06/1164741

War and world society (my report June 2024)