File 705/1916 Pt 2 'Arab revolt: Arab reports; Sir M Sykes' reports' [‎189v] (376/450)

1
WIFI
l
<£ The news was at first received with incredulity, but the English-owned
and Indian press have combined to confirm the truth of the news, which is now
generally believed. The people suspect that we have engineered the revolt, but
the feeling ^ has not yet gone beyond suspicion, though that suspicion is almost
universal : if they get definite proof of the correctness of their suspicions, the effect
on feeling may be very serious. I say £ on feeling’ advisedly, as at present thep*
seems no prospect of the news causing any actual outbreak ”
Writing at about the same date to the Foreign Secretary of the Government of
India, he said that: ££ The arrival in Peshawar of the £ Sadaqat ’ of the 11th July, with
the columns referring to the Sherif blacked out d la Basse” had ££ caused a good’ deal
of unfavourable comment.”
THE AEAB BUREAU.
The report of the Bureau for July has been published, and the following are the
principal points contained in it:—
1. It has issued provisional handbooks of Asir and Hejaz.
2. The “ Arab Bulletin ” is to be printed for the future.
3. General Clayton s absence caused a great increase of advisory work to fall on
the assistant-director.
4. The Bureau had also been required to perform multifarious executive functions
of a staff character which were outside its normal province ; it must continue
to perform this work until military operations and measures in regard to
Hejaz are included in the purview of the Egyptian command.
5. The collection of other than Hejaz intelligence and all research work had, almost
entirely, to stand over.
6. It is to be hoped that with the appointment of permanent and salaried assistant-
director, inspectors, and clerks its work will be able to develop.
7. With the installation of Miss Gertrude Bell as correspondent at Basra,
information from Mesopotamia greatly increased in quality and quantity.
8. There appears to be still some confusion in Mesopotamia as to the status of the
Bureau, its relation to the Foreign Office, and the relation of the Basra
political department to it: and it is suggested that an explanation should
be sent from London.
MASKAT.
[Nik]
KOWEYT AND THE TRUCIAL COAST A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. .
[Nil]
BAHREIN.
[Nil.]
PART II.
POLITICAL NOTES FROM THE FIELDS OF OPERATIONS.
Aden.
I he G.O.C. Aden reported on the 9th, 11th, and 12th August that the situation
was unchanged.
# *
, South Mesopotamia.
A number of documents have been received from Sir Percy Cox, addressed to the
irector Eastern Bureau, c/o Secretary, Committee of Imperial Defence : they are copies