Starvin Larry

The nation of Syria, as well as a host of other Middle Eastern and Northern African nations, are lines drawn by Europeans that do not reflect ethnic and sectarian realities, and in many cases have led to conflict and violence. Partitionsmake more sense than trying to put the square pegs of tribal loyalties in the round hole of artificial nations. From James Durso at oilprice.com:

It’s the 101st anniversary of the Sykes–Picot Agreement and, in light of the non-stop Syrian Civil War, it’s time to ask, “How’s that working out for you?”

The Sykes–Picot Agreement formalized the British and French spheres of influence in the Middle East and set the stage for the French Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon, which ran from 1923 to 1946. In 1936, Ali Sulayman al-Assad, grandfather of Syrian President Bashir Assad, and other Alawite notables petitioned French President Leon Blum, in an attempt to…