27 Articles is Lawrence of Arabia's classic set of guidelines on
military leadership in the Middle East. The 100th anniversary edition
features a new introduction by foreign policy expert John Hulsman and a
new afterword from CBS News President David Rhodes, addressing the
articles' lasting lessons.
In 1916, T.E. Lawrence was deployed to the Arabian Peninsula to aid with
the Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire. It was the middle of World
War I and the British command was throwing its weight behind the
long-rebellious southern territories of the Ottoman Empire. Lawrence had
extraordinary success fighting alongside the coalition of Arab
revolutionaries, and his story has since become legend. Worried that
Lawrence would die on the battlefield and that his knowledge would
vanish with him, British command asked Lawrence to write out a series of
guidelines on his own tactics and teachings.
27 Articles, the text of Lawrence's guidelines, has become required
reading for military leaders. Lawrence's deployment was the West's first
modern involvement in war in the Middle East, and his campaign held
myriad lessons for future generations. Despite being a century old, the
articles are deeply prescient on the challenges America has faced in its
wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Terse and to the point, Lawrence's
articles begin on the battlefield but their value extends well beyond,
into the fields of management, leadership, and business.
On the 100th anniversary of 27 Articles' original publication, foreign
policy John Hulsman and CBS News President David Rhodes now speak to the
articles' ongoing importance, outlining the wisdom they hold for
political, military, and business leaders on into the future.
