The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict #7

The Background for the Longest Soap Opera in History - Part 6

Meet Mark Sykes - an Expert on Nothing

Sir Mark Sykes, who positioned himself as an expert on the Ottoman Empire, received a position in the War Office with the role of determining the policy towards the Ottoman Empire during and after the First World War. As part of his role, he examined the relative merits of different types of territorial arrangements:

1. The annexation of the Ottoman territories by the Allied Powers
2. The division of the territories into spheres of influence instead of their immediate annexation
3. Preserving the integrity of the Ottoman Empire in one of the following options:Subduing its government?or Decentralizing the empire's administration into semi-autonomous units.?

Mr. Expert had a limited understanding of the local complex social, cultural, and political dynamics in Arab culture, and he did not take into account the existing ethnic, religious, and tribal divisions. By doing so, he disregarded national boundaries without regard for the existing communities and identities in the region, contributing to later conflicts and tensions. Moreover, Mr. Genius had limited regional knowledge of the historical and cultural intricacies of the Middle East, which influenced the impractical and unrealistic nature of the borders drawn in the agreement.

However, the committee trusted that the expert was indeed an expert and, therefore, relied on the variety of possible recommendations for actions he provided. Consequently, they recommended the latter alternative because it was the simplest to implement. As a result, the committee proposed to establish five autonomous provinces in the decentralized empire, also known as the Ottoman Empire. These provinces were Syria, Palestine, Armenia, Anatolia, and Iraq. Unsurprisingly, the committee believed that it was desirable to maintain British influence or control over a very wide strip of the Middle East - from the Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf.

Well, who wouldn't recommend that? Do you know a cat that won't keep the cream for its owner? When you are the king of the world, what committee that your own government formed wouldn't believe that it is desirable to maintain your control of income coming from the Middle East?

The first prototype of a global management consulting project

To summarize, the recommendation is that Britain not annex any of the Ottoman Empire territories because it would require making all people of this territory British citizens (along with all that this would imply). So, the British recommended the most innovative and creative solution of the time: keep British control over the main trade artery until the people living there asked for independence. Once the local people knew what they wanted, the British would support their right to self-determination through the League of Nations, but until that day came, Britain could have its cake and eat it too.

• Recommended reading: Follow the links in the text.

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