INITIATION OF ADMINISTRATION IN BAGHDAD WILAYET III VII POLICY OF THE CIVIL ADMINISTRATION

Nothing in the political situation in Syria or 'Iraq rendered such a declaration necessary. Unfettered by such an announcement, France and Great Britain could have come to an agreement as regards their spheres of influence and have proceeded to endow the indigenous populations with institutions calculated to attain the objectives mentioned in the Declaration. 2

I would emphasize the almost entire absence of political, racial or other connexion between Mesopotamia and the rest of Arabia.