I just returned to Japan from a delightful Christmas trip to Australia. The Lady Curzon and myself divided our time between the economic center of Sydney and the capital of Canberra, where we spent several hours lost in the enormous War Memorial Museum, which is probably the most comprehensive war museum I have ever visited.

The museum had several special exhibits, including a special on Lawrence of Arabia and his role during World War I. Included in this exhibit was a map that Lawrence, a trained cartographer, drafted with regard to his proposal for the division of the Middle East.

Wikipedia has a larger graphic here.

Lawrence’s plan was very different from what the British colonial authorities designated. Under Lawrence’s plan:

• + “Irak” was to be smaller, have King Abdullah in charge, include Kuwait, and be under direct British influence.
• + West of that was to be an Arab state under more indirect British influence.
• + The Armenians were to have their own state in the region of Cilicia, the Armenian state “given” to the Armenians by the Crusaders.
• + Palestine was to follow its general historical borders.
• + The French were to have an interest in what was to become Lebanon.
• + Perhaps most importantly, most of Arabia was to be independent, ruled by Prince Faisel (with whom he fought with in Arabia), and free of any European influence.

We can only wonder what would have happened if his plans had been followed.

• BROWSE / IN TIMELINE
• « The big issue of 2008: climate change
• » A peek into America’s Latino future