THE penetration of British forces into northern Syria brought them into a very different political society than they had found in Palestine. The political turmoil in Damascus, and the complex doings in Lebanon, showed this even in the first week of the British conquest, and the French were already establishing a presence. The political issue, however, was much wider than merely Syria and Palestine. The Ottoman Empire still existed an d was still relatively well armed – the armistice did not require Turkish disarmament – while the king of the Arabs had strong ambitions for expansion and had a right to expect consideration from his allies. Then there was President Woodrow Wilson of the United States of America.

The framework for the control of the conquered territory, which stretched from the Sinai desert to beyond Aleppo, had been laid out the year before. It was known as the Occupied Enemy Territory Administration (OETA) until the status of the land was decided at the peace conference, and its deeds were then ratified. Syria-Palestine was thus left in suspense, a condition conducive to much intrigue and disturbance.

This suspense continued for a year, during which the war with Germany was won, refreshing elections in Britain confirmed Lloyd George's coalition government in power, and President Wilson sailed the Atlantic. The peace conference was convened early in 1919, but the Middle East, as it was to be called after the American fashion, was well down the agenda of everyone except the inhabitants, and only a few of those were consulted.