2014 … London and Paris do they reap in Iraq and Syria fruits they have sown … in 1916? The Middle East ? Come on! France and England had their eyes turned elsewhere! Eastward to Germany of Bismarck and William II (Kaiser) which threatened at any moment to break their lines filled trenches and barbed wire.

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1916 agreements SYKES-PICOT

Sykes-Picot 1916

So why secret negotiations on the Middle East? One can imagine that this region of the world Fusse, at the time, the least of their worries. And yet …

Yet in the opulent salons of London’s official buildings, a battalion of mysterious diplomats fidgeted (including a British Lord elegant: Marc SIKES and a French diplomat, Georges-François PICOT .

Their objective ? Redrawing the Middle East … to the benefit of their respective countries, including oil profits they hoped the area full of black gold.

A great blows of rules, that is currently tracing on cards Staff lines that give birth to puppet states, ignoring the people, history and geography and scheduling future conflicts.

The secret agreements of SYKES-PICOT (1916)

On the ruins of the empire OTTOMAN

1916 marks the beginning of the end for the Empire OTTOMAN, power which, since the sixteenth century, controlled the Middle East; OTTOMAN the empire had its heyday. Founded by Osman, a Turkish tribal leader who had crushed the Byzantines near Nicaea (in modern Turkey), he had his hour of glory under the rule of Suleiman , said “the Magnificent” (1529), who came up ‘the gates of Vienna (the crescent on the Ottoman flags also gave the idea for the Viennese pastry) the Ottomans ended the Sunni Abbasids, making their own the Khilafah (the succession of the prophet) and stabilizer the region for four centuries. However, the Ottoman domination was resented, especially by Arab tribes.

But in 1914, the empire chooses the wrong OTTOMAN camps: the camp of the Central Powers (Germany and Austria-Hungary). On the ground, the British played with the Arab (Saudi Arabia) against the Ottomans. The idea was of course out of the OTTOMAN Empire of the war and weaken the Central Powers as well.

For movie buffs, we will review with pleasure the Lawrence of Arabia (David Lean Peter O’Toole in the title role and Omar Sharif).

The British fired first

They sent on site multilingual original (including speaking Arabic), Sir Lawrence, with a mission to unite the Arab tribes, then under the authority of Hussein ibn Ali (1856-1931), Holy Places guardian (Mecca ).

Lawrence, sincere in his remarks, promised HUSSEIN broad autonomy, if not real independence. He did not know what was going on then between London and Paris. Of course, the promise of Lawrence was only “scrap of paper”, in his own words. The British and French had already divided the Middle East to their advantage.

The French

France, for its part, wanted to expand its area of influence, already well established in North Africa. Why not establishing Lebanon and Syria a French protectorate (and phile)? For France, from the start, there was never any question of involving Arabs Faisal (son of Hussein who became King of Iraq in 1921) negotiations. The latter, however, had released DAMASCUS (to the benefit of the Allies) and was made king of Syria. For the French, Syria could be, in time, a French colony, France, she was not the heir of the kingdom of Syria Franc built during the Crusades around Saint Jean d’Acre?

Franco-British agreements

In short, there was a way to agree (for once) between English and French, especially as the common enemy (Germany) in 1916 was still far from his knees. Franco-British agreements bore the name of their two main architects: Sykes and Picot.

The Sykes-Picot agreements in a few lines

For the French, Lebanon, Syria, part of Mesopotamia (modern Iraq, specifically the region of Mosul and the oil-rich Mosul).

For the English, southern Mesopotamia, and Transjordan (across the Jordan) that will eventually become Jordan.

Palestine? Ah! Palestine … It became a neutral zone under international administration. But the British and French promised the Jews the eventual creation of a national state in Palestine; State whose contours were not clear at this stage and who was born much later (1948). Meanwhile, the administration was assured by the British, anxious to control the east bank of the Suez Canal, to sustain the strategic route to India.

Lawrence of Arabia is still illustrated by revealing to the Arab leader ( Feisal ) the content of secret agreements that gave France the tutelage of some of the territories he desired (notably Syria and Iraq ).

Sykes-Picot agreements

1918 – Germany (and OTTOMAN Empire) are defeated

The initial cut was modified: Mesopotamia, rich in oil, was finally fully attached to the Columbia area. The border between Syria and Iraq was born … border that now challenges the Islamic state.

1920 – The San Remo Conference and the Treaty of Sevres

Agreements Sykes-Picot are (with some modifications) endorsed:

The French mandate over Syria and Lebanon

The French mandate over Syria will be at the origin, in 1947, the establishment of party BAAS (BAAS means “rebirth” (meaning the OTTOMAN Empire)), which will oppose nationalism by Western protectorate. Hafez al-Assad (father of Bashar , who ruled as dictator of Syria) results from its ranks.

Lebanon will experience a violent civil war between 1975 and 1990: the Maronites (the oldest Christians in the Middle East) defended the special relationship with France, the other factions (Druze, Shiites, Sunnis) seeking independence. Michel Aoun, who in 1989 led the Maronite Christian forces, demanded and obtained the intervention of France in the conflict that opposed Syria of Hafez Assad .

The British mandate on Iraq and Palestine

Similarly, the British mandate will create the Iraqi banche party BASS including the dictatorship of Saddam Hussein (1973-2003).

The other points of the Conference of San Remo

• confirmation of an independent Republic of Armenia;
• the dissolution of the Empire OTTOMAN, (which will be reduced to Turkey), which will cause the Turkish nationalist uprising of Mustafa Kemal and the negotiation of a new treaty in 1923 (Lausanne), although cheaper, which will give the Turks the means to undertake the Armenian genocide;
• the creation of an autonomous Kurdish region.

The Kurdish autonomous region will never see the day. The Treaty of Lausanne (1923) will cancel this provision and give the starting signal to the Kurdish uprising against Turkey, Iraq, Iran and Syria; uprising that continues today.

Iraqi Kurds will include gassed by Saddam Hussein in 2007.

The consequences of the gentlemen carvings Sykes and Picot were multiple (to use a technical qualification) …

2014 – the consequences of SYKES-PICOT

The border between Syria and Iraq (which did not Feisal) is challenged today by the Islamic State (ISIS in English or in French EIL).

One of the major goals of the Islamic State is to restore the Sunni Caliphate over the borders drawn in 1916 . This is also in Mosul as ISIS (EIL) established his headquarters: the organization has made clear its intention to tear agreements Sykes-Picot . It seems to have the means to carry the fire of Pan-Arabism Colonel Nasser (and Egyptian President) who, already in 1956, challenging the Franco-British trusteeship over the Suez Canal.

The eternal conflict of the Middle East (Palestine to Iran, via Syria and Iraq) is a direct consequence of the disorder that followed the collapse of the Empire OTTOMAN and the Franco-British redistricting . Western, drawing in their favor artificial boundaries, despised people, thrown from both sides of zones of influence divides.

They are now reaping the fruit of secret agreements Sykes-Picot.

The Sykes-Picot agreements in 1916 sharing the Middle East between France and Britain