The first thread is closed so I just want to say this, I loved it.
Hope to see what this new thread brings!
Also, will we get word about what's going on in the Middle East? At the risk of poking the hornet's nest with Chat stuff, I imagine that events in Palestine and the Caucasus will be of big focus.
We will. Here's what I can tell you for now:
Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan declared independence. However, Russia was able to recapture Armenia and Azerbaijan. Georgia survived thanks to German aid and is a German client state.
The British supply shortage weakened their push into Ottoman territory and resulted in a few battles going the other way. The Ottomans have lost Arabia, Egypt, southern Palestine, and southern Iraq. Baghdad, Iraq, and Jaffa are in British/Arab hands, but Haifa, Damascus, and Mosul are Ottoman. Palestine and Iraq are currently under British control (although there is no League of Nations to give them a formal mandate).
The picture in Arabia remains unclear. However, under pressure from his sons, Hussein ibn Ali, the Sharif of Mecca and de facto King of the Hejaz, has signed the Treaty of Basel. IOTL, he refused to sign the Treaty of Versailles due to the Balfour Declaration and the establishment of the French Mandate in Syria and Lebanon. ITTL, he has accepted that the British were simply unable to deliver him Syria and Lebanon. Iraq is more of a sticking point, and rumor has it that the British, not wanting their client to get too powerful, are considering giving Iraq to the Sheiks of Kuwait instead.
Regardless, with the Sharif's signature on the Treaty of Basel, Britain continues to support the Hashemites and are inclined to cut off support for the Saudis (money is a bit tight these days). The Second Saudi-Hashemite War, if it happens at all, will probably be a Hashemite victory. Even that is uncertain, as the Ottoman Caliphate has not been abolished, so there is no pretext for Hussein to proclaim himself Caliph.
While the long-term picture of the Middle East remains unclear, the Arabs see the Treaty of Basel not as a definitive ending but as a ceasefire. This idea (promoted by Prince Faisal) was what persuaded Hussein to ratify the Treaty of Basel. At some point, the Arabs will make another push for Syria.
Ironically, the Arabs have a potential ally against the Ottomans in the form of the Yishuv, which has been effectively cut in two as the Ottomans retain Haifa and the Galilee. Nothing is certain, but Chaim Weizmann has made it clear to Hussein that if he were to support a Jewish state in Palestine, the Jews would happily assist the Arabs in pushing the Ottomans out of Syria and Lebanon. Prince Abdullah has been particularly charmed by the idea, even proposing to his father that the Jews might accept some sort of autonomous status within a larger Arab state. Conversely, it is not out of the question that the Saudis might find common cause with the Ottomans.
