ABSTRACT
Relations between Iraq and Syria are among the most perplexing in the Middle East. Both countries came into existence as a result of the same circumstances; and although Iraq became a British Mandate and Syria a French Mandate, at least in so far as the capitals Baghdad or Damascus are involved, and the largely Arab-Sunni population north and west of the former and north and east of the latter, their individual distinctiveness was for decades more a matter of differences between their respective patrons than of real distinction between societies. Hence, once the British and the French each departed from the scene, it could have been expected that Iraq and Syria would rapidly draw together again and ultimately become what they had previously been: namely, two provinces of the same political entity. This, however, never occurred. In fact, with the passage of time, their differentiation both from each other and from the rest of their regional environment rapidly sharpened, often resulting in dissension that bordered on hostility.
