The Fertile Crescent Plan was an Iraqi

Hashemite The Hashemites (), also House of Hashim, are the Dynasty, royal family of Jordan, which they have ruled since 1921, and were the royal family of the kingdoms of Kingdom of Hejaz, Hejaz (1916–1925), Arab Kingdom of Syria, Syria (1920), and Kingd ...

proposal for the union of the

Kingdom of Iraq The Hashemite Kingdom of Iraq was the Iraqi state located in the Middle East from 1932 to 1958. It was founded on 23 August 1921 as the Kingdom of Iraq, following the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in the Mesopotamian campaign of the First World W ...

with

Mandatory Syria The First Syrian Republic, officially the Syrian Republic, was formed in 1930 as a component of the Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon, succeeding the State of Syria. A treaty of independence was made in 1936 to grant independence to Syria and ...

(including Mandatory Lebanon),

Mandatory Palestine Mandatory Palestine was a British Empire, British geopolitical entity that existed between 1920 and 1948 in the Palestine (region), region of Palestine, and after 1922, under the terms of the League of Nations's Mandate for Palestine. After ...

, and

Transjordan Transjordan may refer to: * Transjordan (region), an area to the east of the Jordan River * Oultrejordain, a Crusader lordship (1118–1187), also called Transjordan * Emirate of Transjordan, British protectorate (1921–1946) * Hashemite Kingdom o ...

Nuri as-Said Nuri Pasha al-Said Al-Qaraghuli CH (; December 1888 – 15 July 1958) was an Iraqi politician and statesman who served eight terms as Prime Minister of Iraq. He served in various key cabinet and governmental positions in Iraq during its Briti ...

, prime minister of Iraq, presented the plan to British officials during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, when it appeared that France had become too weak to continue occupying Syria. The second People's Party, representing northern Syrian commercial and landholding interests, favored the Fertile Crescent Plan and initiated diplomatic steps to implement it. However, the

National Party National Party or Nationalist Party may refer to: Active parties * National Party of Australia, commonly known as ''The Nationals'' * Bangladesh: ** Bangladesh Nationalist Party ** Jatiya Party (Ershad) a.k.a. ''National Party (Ershad)'' * Californ ...

and factions in the army were determined to block any plans for unity with Iraq as long as it had a military treaty with Britain. It was also opposed by Syrians who did not wish to live under a monarchy or in a pro-British state. The closest the plan came to fruition was during the regime (August-December 1949) of Colonel Sami al-Hinnawi, who had installed a People's Party government that entered negotiations to achieve unity. The opportunity was aborted by Colonel

Adib Shishakli Adib ash-Shishakli (1909 – 27 September 1964, ) was a Syrian military officer who served as President of Syria briefly in 1951 and later from 1953 to 1954. He was overthrown and later assassinated. Early life Adib Shishakli was born in th ...

's coup d'état. Any faint hope remaining for the Fertile Crescent Plan ended with the overthrow of the Iraqi monarchy in July 1958. Aspirations to unite the Fertile Crescent states continue to exist.Tareq Y. Ismael, Jacqueline S. Ismael, Kamel Abu Jaber, Politics and government in the Middle East and North Africa, University Press of Florida, 1991, p. 192.

References

Bibliography

*Commins, David Dean. ''Historical Dictionary of Syria'', p. 105. Scarecrow Press, 2004, {{ISBN, 0-8108-4934-8. Pan-nationalism Pan-Arabism Proposed political unions 1940s in Asia 1940s in Iraq 1940s in Transjordan 1940s in Lebanon 1940s in Mandatory Syria 1940s in Syria Iraq–Jordan relations Iraq–Syria relations Jordan–Syria relations Lebanon–Syria relations 1940s in Mandatory Palestine Iraq–Lebanon relations Jordan–Lebanon relations

See also

References

Bibliography