COMMENTARIESDECEMBER 20, 2024
51Understanding The Syrian Civil War – Past and Present
Syria and Lebanon, also referred to as the Levant States (1923–1946), were initially governed under a mandate system established by the erstwhile League of Nations after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire and in the aftermath of the First World War. Under the mandate, the governing country sought to act as a trustee until the people were considered “eligible” to self-govern; at this point, the mandate would terminate, and a sovereign nation would be born. By the end of the war in 1918, by the Sykes-Picot Agreement, Britain held Iraq and the southern part of Ottoman Syria, including Israel, Palestine, and Transjordan regions, while France controlled the rest of Syria, which comprised Lebanon, Alexandretta (a province of Turkey), and portions of Cilicia. Even though after the fall of the Ottomans in Syria, Faisal, son of Hussein bin Ali, King of Hejaz (leading the Arab Revolt), established the first post-war Arab government in Damascus in October 1918 and the British forces withdrew on 26 November 1919, the Arab government had to face France, which demanded full control of Syria under the Treaty of Sevres. Also, the outcome was despite the conclusions of the American King-Crane Commission, which confirmed the opposition of the majority of Syrians to the mandate and the Balfour Declaration as per its remit of the 36 major cities, 300 villages, and petitions numbering more than 3000. Later, General Gouraud (France) issued an ultimatum to Faisal with the choice of either a submission or an abdication. Faisal, realizing the weak balance of power, decided to cooperate. Youssef al-Azmeh, the Syrian minister of war, however, decided to revolt, following which the Franco-Syrian War was fought in which the French decimated the Arab forces and Azmeh died on the battlefield. On 29 September 1923, France was assigned the mandate to govern Syria by the League of Nations (part of the claim included the acknowledgment of France as the protector of minority Christians during the Ottoman Empire), and the administration of the region was carried out under a host of different governments and territories, including the Alawite State, the Jabal Druze State, the Mandatory Syrian Republic (1930–46), the State of Syria (1925–1930), and the Syrian Federation (1922–24). Levant Crisis and Syrian Independence Later, in 1936, the Franco-Syrian Treaty of Independence, also known as the Vienot Accords, was signed, which provided for Syrian independence. However, fearing that the French withdrawal from the mandated states would propel Nazi Germany to fill the vacuum, France continued to occupy Syria, whereupon riots broke out in the region, especially in Aleppo, and the fighting escalated between Syrian youths and French forces in Hama and Homs, resulting in more than 1000 Syrian deaths and countless homes being destroyed while the new president, Hashim al-Atassi, resigned. When the news of the immense casualty loss reached the UK Prime Minister, Winston Churchill sent Charles de Gaulle a message: “In order to avoid a collision between British and French forces, we request you immediately order French troops to cease fire and withdraw to their barracks.” The order being ignored, Britain intervened with troops and tanks from the 31st Indian Armoured Division invading Syria from Transjordan and striking Damascus while cutting off communications of the French forces. Finally, at gunpoint, the French were forced to accept the safe return to their barracks. Syria became fully independent on 17 April 1946, even as both the British and French forces withdrew from Syria and Lebanon, respectively. In October, both Syria and Lebanon were recognized as independent states and admitted as founding members of the United Nations. Syrian Diplomatic Crisis of 1957 Between 18 August and October 1957, severe diplomatic confrontations broke out between Syria and the Soviet Union on the one hand and the United States and its allies along with the Central Treaty Organization (CENTO), also known as the Baghdad Pact (Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, Turkey, and the United Kingdom). Apprehensiveness began when the Western governments accused the Syrian government presided over by Shukri al-Quwatli of making the appointment of Col. Afif al-Bizri as chief of staff of the Syrian Army, alleged to be a Soviet sympathizer, and other institutional changes in line with “Soviet understanding.” Thereafter, suspecting that a Soviet takeover had been organized in Damascus, the neighboring states of Iraq, Lebanon, and Jordan started considering support for an Arab/Western military intervention to overthrow the Syrian government. The then US Secretary of State, John Foster Dulles, described the situation as “totally unacceptable” and called for further efforts to prevent Syria from becoming a “Soviet satellite.” Under the advice of Dulles, President Dwight Eisenhower made some unclear statements on the events during a press conference while Syria responded with its press conference, stating that Syria was committed to a foreign policy doctrine called “positive neutralism,” which was in stark contrast with the “paternalism” of the Cold War superpowers. A telegram from the US Embassy in Saudi Arabia to the State Department stated as follows – “Time approaching, if indeed not already arrived, when Syria will cease to be effectively an independent nation but will have been taken over as was Czechoslovakia in 1948 and made into a Soviet satellite having independence only in name and not in substance. We are also convinced that once the present group now in control of Damascus has consolidated its position in Syria, it will reach out in efforts to subvert surrounding countries, thus propagating the Communist virus and paving the way for control by elements subservient to Moscow.” While Turkey was the only country to deploy thousands of troops along the Syrian border, Nikita Khrushchev, the first Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, threatened to launch missiles at Turkey if it would attack Syria, the United States intimidated the Soviet Union in case it would launch an assault on Turkey. Later, in October, following pressure from the United States, Turkey withdrew its forces from the Syrian border, and Khrushchev made a surprise visit to the Turkish embassy in Moscow, and the crisis ended. Current
