From a World War II field guide to Iraq produced by the US War Department for GIs stationed there:
That tall man in the flowing robe you are going to see soon, with the whiskers and the long hair, is a first-class fighting man, highly skilled in guerrilla warfare. Few fighters in any country, in fact, excell [sic] him in that kind of situation. If he is your friend, he can be a staunch and valuable ally. If he should happen to be your enemy -- look out! Remember Lawrence of Arabia? Well, it was with men like these that he wrote history in the First World War.
Here's the PDF of the entire thing. (Via Danger Room).
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Am I the only one who suddenly has Kipling running through his head? "'Ere's to you, Fuzzy-wuzzy, in your 'ome in the Soodan / You're a poor benighted 'eathen, but a first-rate fightin' man!"
Don't we ever @#$%ing learn ANYTHING??
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