It was the rotting Ottoman remains that the British occupied (a big eye on the oil) and started modernising (that Blairish word) after the first world war, with largely unsuccessful results that culminated in Saddam Hussein, from a pro-Nazi clan in Tikrit, a city now occupied by Isis.
Predicting events inside this large and secretive clan is notoriously difficult and often described as a sort of Arabian version of Cold War-era Kremlinology.
The social and economic crisis in Somalia is exacerbated – and to some extent caused – by clan warfare.
A video posted on YouTube purports to show the rebels' interrogation of clan leader Zaino Berri before he was killed.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-19102374 Facebook Twitter Google plus Share Share this post Facebook Twitter Google plus close 2.37pm BST14:37 Video shows Aleppo clan leader after his capture by rebels A disturbing video posted today on YouTube appears to show Aleppo clan leader Zaino Berri in captivity before his "execution".
Bobo offered mint tea, gin and tonic or cold white wine, while other members of the clan passed around nibbles.
"We had our Madiba [Mandela's clan name], we had the bishop [Desmond Tutu], we had the spirit of our people, we had the world.
There is, though, a growing clan of transparent musicians trying to yank back the mystique-curtain on what it takes to make a living as an artist, from back in the day and more recently – sharing their private spreadsheets so that we aren't all starting from scratch or working from hearsay.
In the towns and villages of south-eastern Turkey, Kurdish clan leaders have long experience of dealing with disputes.
Yet there is now confirmation that three scions of the spectacularly dysfunctional family are indeed to front a show called Pop Dynasty, in which they will seek out a similar clan and help launch them into the entertainment business that has made them such well-adjusted people.
The dreams of powerful men or women could become famous; a class of people emerged whose job was to decipher them, since they might foretell the fate of the clan or nation.
