Talk:De Bunsen Committee

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In the following submission I will propose some edits to the page with the intent of making it more thorough in describing the De Bunsen Committee and its significance in shaping the Middle East. I also found that one of the links at the bottom page seems to be problematic. Finally, I am adding information that emphasizes Mark Sykes' role in the committee as it was stated "profound" It leads to a blog that does not seem to be relevant to the topic. My information comes from "A Peace to End All Peace" by David Fromkin. Proposed emissions will contain a strikethrough and added information will be underlined on my own talk page. If anyone has comments or suggestions, please let me know on this talk page or my own talk page.

The De Bunsen Committee was the first committee established by the British government to determine their policy toward the Ottoman Empire during and following World War I. It was established on 8 April 1915 by British Prime Minister H. H. Asquith, and was headed by Sir Maurice de Bunsen. The report of the De Bunsen committee was presented shortly after the committee's formation, on 30 June 1915. The report established the foundation for British policy in the Middle East. The committee was established in response to a French initiative, to consider the nature of British objectives in Turkey and Asia in the event of a successful conclusion of the war. The committee's report provided the guidelines for negotiations with France, Italy, and Russia regarding the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire.[1] Contents

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1Members 2Report 3See also 4References Members[edit | edit source] The members of the committee were was follows:[2] Sir Maurice de Bunsen, 1st Baronet, Chairman GR Clark, representing the Colonial Office Thomas Holderness, representing the India Office Henry Jackson (Royal Navy officer), representing the Admiralty General C.E. Callwell, representing Kitchener's War Office Hubert Llewellyn-Smith, representing the Board of Trade Mark Sykes, representing Lord Kitchener, the Secretary of State for War Maurice Hankey, Secretary to the committee of Imperial Defence and Secretary to War Council of the Cabinet The impact of Mark Sykes, who later negotiated the Sykes-Picot Agreement, on the committee was said to be "profound".[2] Report[edit | edit source] The De Bunsen committee considered four possible solutions provided and outlined by Mark Sykes: partition of the Ottoman Empire amongst the Allied Powers, leaving only a small Ottoman state in Anatolia; preservation subject to Great Power control zones of political and commercial influence; preservation as an independent state in Asia; creation of a decentralised, federal Ottoman state in Asia. The Committee's report, titled "Committee of Imperial Defence: Asiatic Turkey, Report of a Committee" was issued on 30 June 1915,[3] and recommended the last option, to create a decentralized empire of semi-autonomous units, as the best solution for meeting the British Empire's defence needs. These units determined by the committee would be comprised of five provinces: Syria, Palestine, Armenia, Anatolia, and -Iraq. The De Bunsen Committee’s intention was to have British intervention within the Middle East.

See also[edit | edit source] British Mandate for Palestine References[edit | edit source] Jump up^ The Middle East and North Africa in World Politics: A Documentary Record, by J. C. Hurewitz, 1979, Yale University Press; 2 edition, ISBN 0-300-02203-4, page 26 ^ Jump up to:a b In the Anglo-Arab Labyrinth: The McMahon-Husayn Correspondence and Its Interpretations 1914-1939, Elie Kedourie Jump up^ National Archives, CAB 42/3/12 Link to blog seems unreliable A Peace To End All Peace, by David Fromkin, 1989, Henry Holt and Company, Inc., ISBN 0-8050-0857-8, pages 146-149 Categories: Mandatory Palestine History of Palestine (region) Arab–Israeli conflict British Empire Land of Israel League of Nations mandates Israel, Palestine, and the United Nations

Just try and tidy this up a bit

Not sure what the above is, a previous draft, I think, something like that. Just going to fill this page out a little bit as regards Palestine, perhaps some other points.Selfstudier (talk) 21:13, 13 June 2017 (UTC)