In July 1920, French troops conquered the Kingdom of Syria; two months later, French authorities carved out portions of it to include in the enlarged state of Lebanon. They created the Greater Lebanon entity whose borders exist, formally at least, to the present day. Their decision had the effect of diluting the Christian component in Lebanon; in so doing, they sowed the seeds of Lebanon's ineradicable communal problems. These dominated Lebanese political life through the decades and then came to fruition in the civil war that began in 1975. Zamir provides a superb account of factors leading to the French decision and then pursues its consequences to 1926. He has patiently unraveled the complex threads of this critical period and cogently organized them. More studies like this and we may begin to understand the Middle East.
Zamir shows that some individuals, especially the French administrator Robert de Caix, foresaw the tensions arising from "Lebanese megalomania" and opposed an enlarged Lebanon. But the combined influence of the Lebanese Christians, their French supporters, and the French high commissioner overrode this sober view. The Lebanon debate of years ago provides a poignant perspective on current Israeli views about the future of the West Bank.
