A popular word: “mandate”
In the summer of 1919, the future of the country looked disheartening from İstanbul. The Straits had been disarmed, the fleet of the Allies had anchored at the Bosphorus, and the British and the French had gained control of the city. The sultan and the government were acting like puppets of the occupation forces. Although the Allied States were claiming that the occupation was only a temporary solution and that their real objective was to protect the sultanate and the caliphate, they were not very convincing.
Similar to İstanbul, other parts of the country were under occupation. Although rumors circulated that Mustafa Kemal had made initiatives to put together forces in Anatolia, no concrete developments appeared on the horizon. As many intellectuals did not believe that the Ottoman State could overcome the present conditions through its own resources, they were increasingly beginning to lean towards the idea of a mandate regime. The idea of becoming a mandate of the United States to maintain Turkey’s territorial integrity and economic development had become a popular idea.
In İstanbul at the time, amidst all these debates, Colonel İsmet Bey summarized the general atmosphere as follows in the letter he sent to 15th Corps Commander Kâzım Karabekir Pasha on June 1, 1919:
A group of people that can be defined as the majority (or the majority of the ones I know) believe the American mandate should completely overtake Turkey. However, the decision makers are neither asking for our opinion, nor thinking on our behalf…
