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(yes, this is a repost)

POD 1920: Sykes and Picot are less ambitious

Instead of backstabbing Faisal, the French and British more or less hold to the joint declaration put forth in November 1918. London gets naval bases in Haifa and Basra along with minor economic concessions elsewhere. Paris, seeing the writing on the wall in Turkey and having the Maronite Patriarch in their pocket; manages incorporate the old Ottoman Mutasarrifate of Lebanon as an Overseas Department after a plebiscite, promises of full citizenship rights for Muslims, and a massive payment to the Government in Damascus.

Needless to say the Balfour Declaration is quietly forgotten. Jaffa has a Azkhenazic suburb, the Hebrew University prospers, and multiple communes sprout up in the area on the basis of Faisal's own understanding with Weizmann; but a Jewish State is considered a pipe dream. In at least part to avoid the appearance of needless favoritism the offer of easy immigration and a degree of cultural autonomy are also extended to the Armenians and 'Giritli' (a Greek language college is actually in the works by the late 20s).

Unfortunately, In mid 1924 Faisal's viceroy in Baghdad Prince Zied made the critical mistake of appointing a Sunni to the head of the famous semanary in Najaf, then overreacted to the protests. When the smoke died down Lower Mesopotamia had declared it's own republic and the CHP regime in Turkey snatched up the old Ottoman Vilayet of Mosul leaving the area around Baghdad itself as a frontier province of Damascus by 1930.

Now what?
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