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How The US Wanted The Middle East To Look Like After WW1
May 13, 2025
Meet your new favorite daily sneaker—Vessi is waterproof, ultra-comfy, and fits every part of your routine. Visit https://vessi.com/gk and enjoy 15% off your first pair at checkout! In this video I explore what the Middle East could have looked like if U.S. President Woodrow Wilson's post-WWI vision had become reality. We look at his Fourteen Points, especially point XII, and how his ideas clashed with the British and French plans already in motion, like the secret Sykes-Picot Agreement. I break down how Wilson hoped to create new countries based on ethnic and national lines, rather than colonial interests, and how this vision played out at the 1919 Paris Peace Conference. I explain the proposed creation of an international zone over the Dardanelles and Constantinople, and dive into the potential independence of places like Smyrna, Pontus, Greater Armenia (Wilsonian Armenia), and a Free Kurdistan. We also look at what happened instead: how Turkey kept the straits and crushed many of these plans through the War of Independence, how the British and French carved up Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Palestine, and Egypt under mandates, and how Wilson’s ideas were mostly sidelined by European imperialism and American isolationism. The video covers other interesting “what-ifs” like a League of Nations-administered strait, a Kurdish homeland across four countries, and why the Armenian and Pontic Greek states never came to be. This is a deep dive into alternative history, the real plans for these borders, and the reasons they never came to life. TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 What If The Middle-East Looked Different? 00:31 What The British & French Wanted vs What Wilson Wanted 01:33 Which Countries Were Proposed? 02:52 Vessi 04:42 The Unfollowed Treaty of Sèvres 05:07 What Actually Happened? 06:11 Constantinople / Dardanelles Strait 07:17 An Independent or Greek Smyrna 08:02 Greek and Turkish Population Exchanges 08:32 Republic of Pontus 09:41 Greater Armenia 10:32 A Free Kurdistan 11:37 A Modern Mesopotamia 12:29 Syria & Lebanon 12:41 Palestine, Egypt & Cyprus
View Video Transcript
0:00
What if the Middle East looked different? Towards the end of World War One, U.S. President Woodrow
0:05
Wilson and his administration were involved in discussions about a post-war organization of the
0:11
Ottoman Empire's territories, which at this point were reduced to Anatolia and the Middle East
0:16
These ideas were part of a broader diplomatic discussion at the Paris Peace Conference
0:22
often reflecting a mix of Wilson's idealistic self-determination principle, as per his famous
0:27
14 points and the strategic interests of the Allied powers. These interests didn't always
0:33
align. The famous secret Sykes-Picot agreement between the French and the English divided the
0:39
lands of the Ottomans among themselves, but the Americans at the time, especially President Wilson
0:44
had other ideas. It was specifically stated in point 12 of his speech in which he said
0:50
The Turkish portion of the present Ottoman Empire should be assured a secure sovereignty
0:57
but the other nationalities which are now under Ottoman rule should be assured an undoubted
1:02
security of life and an absolutely unmolested opportunity of autonomous development, and the
1:08
Dardanelles should be permanently opened as a free passage to the ships and commerce of all nations
1:15
under international guarantees. Wilson wanted a redesign of the Middle East's borders
1:20
not according to the interests of the allied powers, especially those of France and the United
1:25
Kingdom, but according to the interests of the locals, along lines of ethnicity and nationality
1:31
or maybe even religion. Although Wilson didn't officially propose a concrete blueprint for all
1:36
of these potential new political entities, there were movements where he or his advisors or groups
1:42
inspired by his ideas supported proposals involving those potential states or mandates
1:47
and he did have a direct input on the actual ideal borders of at least two of them, Armenia
1:52
and Kurdistan, here's a map signed by him of those two. In total, there were at least 10 new countries that would have emerged should Wilson's ideals
2:03
have been followed, a League of Nations mandate over the Dardanelles Strait controlling the
2:08
city of Constantinople, an independent Smyrna on the west coast of Anatolia, a new Turkish
2:14
Republic, much more reduced in size, a Pontus Republic on the Black Sea coast, a greater Armenia
2:21
that would stretch into modern Turkey and Azerbaijan, a free Kurdistan in Anatolia, Iraq and Syria
2:28
a narrower Iraq which would absorb Kuwait and be known as Mesopotamia, potentially under a British
2:34
mandate, similarly to Syria which would absorb Transjordan and be along with Lebanon under French
2:40
rule. Cyprus, Palestine and Egypt would be semi-sovereign but with British influence as well
2:45
As well as a fully united peninsula of Arabia where all Arab people could have their sovereignty
2:52
Now imagine that this succeeded and all of these new countries were created. My first instinct would
2:59
be to go and visit all of them. Maybe take a walk through greater Armenia or free independent Kurdistan
3:06
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Now, let's get back to the video. Now, as we know, the Middle East changed a lot after World War I, but it didn't end up looking like this
4:47
To be fair, it also didn't look how the British and French idealized it in the Sykes-Picot Agreement
4:52
nor in the later Treaty of Sevres, which would have brought Wilson's desires a little closer
4:58
with an expanded Armenia, an independent Smirna and Kurdistan and an expansion of Greece along with free passage along the Straits
5:07
What did happen was a de facto French annexation of Syria and Lebanon
5:11
and a British one of Palestine, Jordan and Iraq along different more straight line borders
5:16
made by some colonial officer with a ruler that took no heed to the ethnic and religious reality on the ground
5:22
Turkey kept the Dardanelles and prevented the independence of Armenia, Kurdistan, Smirna and Pontus by successfully fighting and winning their war of independence
5:31
led by the founding father of the Turkish Republic, Kemal Ataturk. Now, I'm a big fan of alternative history, especially when it's connected to something that
5:40
could have happened in history had things gone just slightly differently. So in this video we're going to learn about each of these proposed states
5:48
understand why they were proposed in the first place, what they were all about, how things would be different in the region if they existed today
5:54
and why they ended up not existing. Let us start with the Straits region
6:09
Constantinople, or Istanbul, has always been a key location. It controls the pathway between the Middle East and Europe
6:16
it controls the axis of Ukraine, Southern Russia, and the Caucasus to the Mediterranean
6:19
and connects it with the Black Sea plus the other way around too. This made it of course a focal
6:25
point for allied and international interest, enough that Wilson included it in its 12th point
6:31
President Wilson's 14 points really emphasized the need for these waterways to remain open to
6:37
all nations, suggesting their internationalization to ensure free navigation. The idea was to place
6:43
the straits under an international mandate, possibly administered by the League of Nations
6:48
to prevent any single nation from controlling this crucial passage. However, the plan faced opposition from Turkish nationalists who viewed it as an infringement
6:58
of their sovereignty. Ultimately, while the Treaty of Sevres proposed international control, the subsequent Turkish
7:03
War of Independence and the resulting Treaty of Lausanne in 1923 resulted in Turkey retaining sovereignty over the straits although keeping certain provisions ensuring freedom of passage so at least a little bit of their goal was achieved
7:18
Then we have one that was super interesting to me when researching for this video, which
7:22
is Smyrna. The city of Smyrna, modern-day Izmir, had a significant Greek population and was of economic
7:29
and strategic importance. Greek claims supported by the Allied powers aimed to incorporate Smirna into Greece, aligning
7:36
with Wilson's principle of self-determination, or achieve independence as its own sort of city-state
7:42
During the Paris Peace Conference, discussions centered on the future of Smirna existed
7:48
The Greek occupation in 1919, sanctioned by the Allies, however led to increased tensions
7:54
and eventually the Greco-Turkish War. The conflict culminated in the recapture of Smyrna by the Turkish forces in 1922
8:03
The subsequent population exchange between Greece and Turkey, formalized in the Treaty of Lausanne
8:08
led to the relocation of Greek population from Asia Minor to Greece and vice versa for the Turkish populations
8:14
Hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people went from one side of the agency to the other
8:20
in what is likely one of the biggest population transfers in history
8:24
The idea of an independent Smyrna was thus rendered moot by the realities of war and those population transfers
8:32
Another super interesting one would have been the Republic of Pontus, a would-be Greek state in the southern shores of the Black Sea
8:40
Greek colonies were established on the Pontus coast in as early as 800 BC
8:45
and by the time of the conquests of Alexander the Great, the local inhabitants were already heavily Hellenized
8:51
International societies of Pontic Greeks became connected with the Pontus Society and began significantly lobbying and pushing efforts for an independent Pontic Greek state
9:03
Because of the result of World War I, this was also discussed at the Paris Peace Conference
9:08
but the Greek government of Eleftherios Venizelos feared the precarious position of such a state
9:14
and so it was included instead in the larger proposed state of Wilsonian Armenia
9:19
It's odd, right, that the Greeks themselves were against it, thinking that it would be
9:24
too vulnerable to exist and too far away for them to help
9:28
Ultimately, however, neither state came into existence and the Pontic Greek population
9:32
was expelled from Turkey after 1922 and resettled, either in Greek Macedonia or, surprisingly
9:39
across the Black Sea in the Soviet Union. And now it makes sense to move on to precisely, maybe the reason why many of you clicked on
9:46
the video, the story of Greater Armenia. or as many came to know it, Wilsonian Armenia
9:51
Historically, Armenia has occupied much more territory than it does today. And in the aftermath of the Armenian Genocide
9:58
there was a push to establish a secure and independent Armenian state
10:03
After World War I, there was a perfect opportunity for this to happen. President Wilson was tasked with delineating its borders
10:10
resulting in the concept of Wilsonian Armenia. Despite Wilson's support, the United States Senate rejected the mandate for Armenia in 1920
10:18
The outbreak of the Turkish War of Independence led to the Ottoman Empire not ratifying the Treaty of Sevr and retaining control over these regions
10:26
defeating Armenian troops and further suppressing the idea of Armenian independence. The other big one is Kurdistan, the eternal non-country
10:37
The Kurdish people an Indo ethnic group inhabiting mountainous regions across eastern Anatolia northern Mesopotamia and western Persia had long maintained distinct linguistic and cultural traditions Their aspirations for autonomy or independence
10:51
were also acknowledged in that Treaty of Sèvres which allowed for a potential Kurdish referendum
10:56
in parts of southeastern Anatolia to decide whether to form an independent state
11:02
Historically, the Kurdish regions had enjoyed periods of semi-autonomy under the Ottomans
11:07
through local tribal leaders and emirates during the Paris Peace Conference, some Kurdish
11:11
representatives proposed a state that included parts of what is now Turkey, Iraq, Syria, and Iran
11:18
However, allied interests in Kurdistan were minimal compared to other mandates, and internal divisions among Kurdish leaders, coupled with external opposition particularly
11:27
from the Turks and later the Iraqis too, undermined its feasibility. Ultimately
11:33
the Treaty of Lausanne made no mention of Kurdish autonomy or independence
11:37
than Mesopotamia, which was created as Iraq under a British mandate, but quite differently than the Americans, or at least Wilson, had envisioned
11:46
The League of Nations formalized the agreement by granting Britain a mandate over Mesopotamia
11:51
with the intent of guiding the territory towards eventual independence. However, the imposition of foreign rule was met with resistance from the local population
11:59
culminating in the 1920 Iraqi revolt. In response to the unrest, Britain sought to establish a more acceptable form of governance
12:06
by installing Faizal I, a member of the Hashemit dynasty, as the king of Iraq
12:13
And in 1921, this happened. By 1932, they achieved full independence. It also had slightly different borders than initially planned
12:20
due to reasons I couldn't really figure out. Maybe because the British also came to be in control of Transjordan
12:26
and so they wanted to connect the two territories. The same could be said for Syria, placed under a French mandate in 1920
12:32
despite earlier promises of independence made to Arab leaders during World War I
12:38
the French also came to control Lebanon. And Palestine was one of the few that went to plan
12:43
becoming a British mandate with the same planned borders, as well as Cyprus and Egypt, where nothing changed
12:49
And finally, Arabia. Not only was it according to Wilson's ideals, but the British themselves had promised Hussein bin Ali
12:57
the Shadif of Mecca, an independent Arab state, in exchange for his support against the Ottoman Empire
13:02
After the war, the Arabian Peninsula was fragmented with various tribal and regional powers
13:09
The British supported different leaders in different regions depending on their own interest
13:12
rather than following the initial plan. This led to the establishment of several states right after the war
13:18
However, most of the Arabian Peninsula fell to Ibn Saud, who created the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 1932
13:25
while other states remained or came to be independent in the east and south
13:30
So, those are the proposed countries that would have existed in the Middle East had President Wilson of the US gotten his way
13:37
What do you think about this? Would you have liked to see any of these countries be created
13:41
Or do you think it was good that they ended up not existing? Let me know in the comments
13:46
Thank you so much for watching this video. Thank you to my patrons for their direct support
13:50
And I will see you next time for more general knowledge. Today's Moomin Cup is another repeat but it's one of my favorites. It is the Misunderstood Monster
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Just the name that I've given it myself and he has a little cool lamp and they're just
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they're just hanging out. Looks a little scary but I don't think he is. I think he's a nice guy
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Some people, sometimes people are nice guys even though they look scary
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