Scott Anderson penned Lawrence of Arabia, and in May 2016 NPR interviewed him about Sikes-Picot, a post World War I agreement that, as NPR puts it, was “a secret pact signed among allied nations that shaped the geography of the Middle East.”
Not mentioned, but just as appropriate and a lot more fun is “League of Notions,” Al Stewart’s 1995 song which alludes to the Sikes-Picot Agreement from his memorable album Between the Wars. A verse:
Voices in the corridors of power
Candles burning hour by hour
Still you know that to the victors go the spoils
Such a great responsibility to make it fair
And there must be some reparations now
And don’t forget the oil
. . .
Pax vobiscum
