The Mother of All Wars

In Iraq, at least. Gertrude Bell was the British archaeologist and, later, intelligence operative who "drew the map" of present-day Iraq by combining the three Ottoman vilayets of Basra, Baghdad, and Mosul. The result was a deliberate disunity designed to ensure continued dependence on the British. A loyal imperialist with a keen sense of pragmatism, Bell made her map with Mother England, not the Iraqi people, in mind. As described at Gertrude Bell and the Birth of Iraq:

Many officials wanted to pull out of Mesopotamia altogether, except for the Persian Gulf. Bell and a few others, like T.E. Lawrence, argued for making and backing an Arab kingdom in Iraq. Bell's party eventually persuaded Churchill that Arab monarchies with British power behind them would make for a more stable region, cheaper in the long run as a provider of oil.

After the Cairo Conference, according to Wallach, "almost everything (Bell) had wished for now had a chance of coming true. The country would consist of all three vilayets — Baghdad, Basra and Mosul; the Sunnis, Shiites, Jews, Christians and Kurds would be united under a Sharifian king; and Iraq, rich, prosperous and led by Faisal, would be a loyal protégé of Britain. If Gertrude could bring it all off, it would be more than interesting, it would be a model for the entire Middle East."

Has a familiar ring, no? Here's Getrude's Iraq:


Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose.

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