The 1916 Sykes-Picot agreement has become a cliche: its importance magnified out of all proportion to its effect on events in the Middle East

Soldier and politician Sir Mark Sykes, 1879 - 1919.
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Soldier and politician Sir Mark Sykes, 1879 - 1919.
One hundred years ago on May 16 Britain and France signed a secret deal to carve up the carcass of the moribund Ottoman Empire that has since become a byword in the Middle East for imperialist skullduggery – the Sykes-Picot agreement.