Sykes - Picot (1916)

In the First World War, Arabs fought Turks alongside the Allies but were clueless about the Allies’ postwar intentions. In secret mapping (1915 – 1916) known as Sykes-Picot, Britain and France had carved up the Arab land of the Ottoman Empire. The Russian Czar had already asserted its value as a political and military instrument. Later, all the ills of the ‘Arab World’ became attached to it.With or without Sykes-Picot, the entire Mideast region was already divided into vying warlords, feudalism, and chieftains alliances. Mark Sykes and Georges Picot had no choice but ‘dotting-lines’ to protect the backs of their advancing armies. In the heat of WWI, using ‘Color-zoned’ road maps fitting military geography, Britain, and France managed to push the Germans out of the region. Allied armies were pitted against those of the Central Powers, both manned by Muslims ready to fight for their protectors. Their Propagandists applied the call for Jihad to the maximum.It wasn’t until 1919 that the American President first heard of the Sykes-Picot Treaty (as the French were eager to call it). Disgusted, President Wilson said “it sounds like the name of tea. Sykes-Picot is an excellent example of the old diplomacy.”And the story goes on.