How many new Middle East will be announced after?

RUBA AYYASH

In 1916, the British and French signed the Sykes-Picot Agreement to share the estate of the sick man (the Ottoman Empire) after its fall.

The opinion of the peoples was not taken into account, and national and religious diversity was not taken into account, and the result was states with artificial borders, and social divisions that sowed doubt instead of trust, and disharmony instead of belonging.

Map Rubas article — Map showing Eastern Turkey in Asia, Syria and Western Persia, and areas of control and influence agreed upon between the British and the French. Royal Geographical Society, 1910-15. Signed by Mark Sykes and François Georges-Picot, 8 May 1916.

The problem was not only in the demarcation of borders, but in the creation of fragile states, which were left to explode at all times.

Sykes-Picot was not a passing agreement, but a management mentality for the region, which still exists. Separating peoples, dividing resources, fragmenting identities, and prioritizing sectarian loyalties over patriotism.

Francois Georges Picot — Picot cropped image from image published in L’Illustration

Sykes-Picot is still in essence to this day, and many generations have paid for it, and the reckoning is not over. The region will pay a heavy price in the near future.

Every century, or sooner. Maps are redrawn, and demographic, geographical, and geopolitical transformations are imposed, with blood instead of ink, and according to interests and corporate contracts, not the freedom of the people or respect for the privacy of the country. Cracks and conflicts should remain alive, as long as chaos is in the interest of those who know how to manage them.

“All the files whose graves have been exhumed over the past two years, no clear logical solution has been reached for any of them. The implication of this is that complex pending files remain. From Gaza and the West Bank to Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and Yemen, to Iran and the dubious Western relationship, the toxic love-enmity relationship between Tehran and Washington is yet another example of carefully managed chaos.”

Sykes Picot Map — Zones of French and British influence and control proposed in the Sykes–Picot Agreement in 1916

In this troubled corner of the world, nothing is constant but chaos. What is happening in the Middle East is manifested in a crisis with no easy way out, and stability may be very far away in the absence of a near horizon for a solution.

Pessimism or gloom? Maybe realistic. The region’s crises are not transitory, but deep-rooted. Realism is necessary to understand how events move, so that one realizes what can actually change, and to which precipice the boats are heading.

The Middle East is not left to chaos, but is being led towards chaos that does not reach complete collapse. No one wants conflicts to be resolved, because conflict is a reason for survival and influence.

Chaos is not an enemy of the West, but rather its noisy friend, which gives it the reasons to exist, survive and control. The West does not create chaos in order to rule, but rather creates chaos in order to monitor it, negotiate it, and justify its existence in it.

In recent years, the region has experienced a series of crises that have gone beyond the boundaries of traditional conflict. Syria has turned into a miniature global war zone, and Yemen is experiencing an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe.

Iraq is lost between Iranian influence and American interests. Lebanon is collapsing economically after the collapse of its borders, sovereignty and right to self-determination. Palestine is striking in Gaza and the West Bank relentlessly, and the world is content to “watch” the tragedy.

What is interesting is that despite all this collapse, these countries are not allowed to fall for good. There does not seem to be any party that wants to make a decision. Rather, they are kept as helpless “state structures”, managing their daily crises without a horizon, and being used as a permanent bargaining chip at the adult tables.

Leaving the Middle East to chaos is not in vain, but it is in the interest of those who run the game. There is no point in supporting the Lebanese government and its president in re-establishing the “Switzerland of the East” and reviving life, economy and culture in it.

There is no point in replacing the Assad regime with a just, strong, free, and civilian one. There is no point in finding a final solution to the Palestinian issue and starting to implement clear steps for just and humane solutions that preserve the right of individuals to a dignified and easy life.

All the files whose graves have been exhumed over the past two years, no clear logical solution has been reached for any of them. The implication of this is that complex pending files remain.

From Gaza and the West Bank to Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and Yemen, to Iran and the dubious Western relationship, the toxic love-enmity relationship between Tehran and Washington is yet another example of carefully managed chaos.

RUBA AYYASH: Multimedia Journalist @ Sky News Arabia ; Master’s in Journalism, Abu Dhabi Emirate, United Arab Emirates

Mahabahu.com is an Online Magazine with collection of premium Assamese and English articles and posts with cultural base and modern thinking. You can send your articles to editor@mahabahu.com / editor@mahabahoo.com (For Assamese article, Unicode font is necessary) Images from different sources.