politics
France broke the Levant. Trump can fix it by giving Syria Tripoli
On Sept. 1, 1920, French High Commissioner Henri Gouraud signed a decree that ripped Tripoli from Faisal’s short-lived Syrian Arab Kingdom, only days after the Battle of Maysalun. More than 200 Sunni merchants from Tripoli submitted formal petitions demanding reunion with Damascus. Gouraud ignored every signature to create a Maronite-majority Greater Lebanon and deny Syria its natural Mediterranean outlet.
TL;DR
- A French decree in 1920 separated Tripoli from Syria, creating instability.
- The Trump administration has an opportunity to correct this by granting Damascus administrative control over Tripoli.
- This would restore Syria's economic outlet, sever Hezbollah smuggling routes, and provide the Syrian government with a domestic win.
- The proposal includes territorial exchanges in the Golan Heights, with Syria receiving a small parcel and abandoning maximalist claims.
- Israel would withdraw from certain Syrian terrain in exchange for protection guarantees for Syria's Druze population.
- A Druze Continuum Authority would manage local affairs and allow for cross-border cooperation.
- Key steps include appointing a special envoy, congressional authorization for reconstruction funds for Tripoli port with strict transparency, and operationalizing the Continuum Authority.