In
connection with below-linked article Farrokh & Vasseghi (2017) on the 20th century “invented
term”—the Middle East—one may refer to a declassified, internal memo by the
CIA’s Office of Basic and Geographic Intelligence (OBGI) to Deputy Director for
Intelligence dated February 26, 1973 (the “CIA Memo”), in which the author,
whose identity is redacted, noted his “strong aversion” to the use of the term
“the Middle East.”
In
the CIA Memo, the author claimed that the CIA tends to be “alert and responsive
to official changes in the names of individual political entities.” However, when it comes to geographic terms,
the CIA adheres “to usages that are imprecise, egocentric, and anachronistic.” One of the common ways in which the CIA
ignores precise geographical names is by “the use of longitudinal compass
directions as nouns” (emphasis in
original).
According
to the CIA Memo, terms such as “the Middle East” are, and always were,
imprecise and egocentric given they reflect “the world as viewed from London
and western Europe.” The author is
alarmed at how widespread the usage of these imprecise terms among the
intellectual circles were, including as part of titles for respected publications
such as The Middle East Journal.
The
author of the CIA Memo is concerned with how those in the field of intelligence
defend the use of imprecise geographic terms by arguing that everyone knows to
what location one is referring when, for example, one says, “the Middle East,”
so why worry about it. Further,
correcting such terms may cause confusion and inconvenience! The author responded to these officers by
reminding them that as responsible leaders in the intelligence community, they
“should always strive to be practitioners of precision” in written materials.
As
examples of changing how these officers think and write, the author of the CIA
Memo encouraged them to substitute imprecise terms for accurate ones as listed
in the chart below:
Imprecise
and Improper Terms Accurate and
Refined Terms
the Far East East Asia
the Middle East deadlock the Arab-Israeli deadlock
the industrial West the non-Communist
industrial nations
the Near East the Eastern Mediterranean
the Middle East the
Persian Gulf states
Sources
Central Intelligence Agency. (1973,
February 26). Toward improved precision in regional terminology (Approved for
Release 2003/03/28: CIA-RPD80T01497R000100080031-9). McLean, VA: CIA Library.
Farrokh, K., & Vasseghi, S. (2017).
The “Middle East”: An Invented Term from the 20th Century. Persian Heritage, 88, 12-14. Retrieved from http://www.academia.edu/35445793/Farrokh_K._and_Vasseghi_Sh._2017_._The_Middle_East_An_Invented_Term_from_the_20th_Century._Persian_Heritage_88_pp.12-14
[pic: Wikipedia…for educational purposes
only]
