Coll 17/10(1) 'Internal: political situation; relations with HMG' [‎118r] (240/982)

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admitted that he could by no means guarantee that. He could, m fact, make
“" P^Ya^we^n^oTrumbrihrhe had been persistently kept in the
dark by Ktog Gha'i’s advisefs, both about His Majesty’s habits and the pnvate
i-? /fKo Pnval Familv in general. For example, lie had just neaia
Ghlzi which had profoundly shocked him, and had discovered that
fhe Amir g Abdulillah, who had recently taken his g ste f t0 f f
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King Ghazi, and said that it was all the more unfortunate because, the present
mniriHat the country was faced with many internal difficulties. ^
rhinss were toXy Rng Ghazi, as I knew quite well, played no part m State
affairs and any Government in Iraq had m effect all the powers that could be
fven to a regency Indeed, if the worst came to the worst, a Prime Minister
1 discharge most of the duties of the Crown until it became possible for His
Ma estTto rlappear in public. There was, therefore, nothing to be gained by
Null’s scheme It the Yame time, he realised that, if he cared to pursue his
plans Nuri could carry a large body of opinion with him, for it would be a simple
matter toTnflame popular pLions against King Ghazi. But since the acciden
to his son Nuri be felt, had been nervous and distraught, and seemed to have los
his tonse of proportion. Yasin therefore begged me to use my influence with
Nuri to bring him to his senses. No mention, he said, should be made of our
present talk, lor Nuri would be sure to put his plan to me. I readily agreed to
do this for I was persuaded that the Prime Minister was right. _
15 ’ My visit to Nuri the day after was the first I had paid to him since
his return from Europe. I was disturbed by his appearance and his manner.
He seemed to be but the shale and husk of himself and looser than ever, both in
his thought and in the expression of it. As foreseen by 1 asm, he at once ra
the subiect of the princess’s marriage. He said that he feared that the affair
would utterly destroy King Ghazi’s "reputatian. His Majesty’s way f hWas
already well known and had damaged his prestige as King. What bad now
happened might well be the final blow. As he saw it, public contempt for King
Ghazi was likely soon to reach such a pitch that it might become impossible foi
His Majesty any longer to carry out the duties of the Grown. With what face
for instance could s5ch a King meet a situation which demanded the dismissal
of a Government which had lost the confidence of the country? And how, m
these circumstances, could an Administration which was abusing its position be
removed from office except by coup d'Etat .Such perplexities as these had been
occunying his mind night and day. He felt that it was imperative to do some-
thins ;.' 7 Some clear-cut and unquestionable authority must be set up m the place
of the King for this was essential to the Government of Iraq. For instance,
the unruly elements in the country and all those with grievances had hitherto
been able, as a last resort, to appeal to the throne for redress. Since King
Feisal’s death this had not meant much, but it had acted m a way as a vent. I he
vent had now become choked, and if it were not replaced an explosion mig e
^ 16 He then put to me somewhat incoherently his plans for a regency and
asked for my views. I protested that this was a far-reaching proposal, and
that if he wanted my views, he must develop it a little. He confessed that he
had had time neither to study its practical implications nor to take Yasin into
his confidence, and he spoke confusedly first of deposing King Ghazi and then
of putting his prerogatives into commission. The rest was a tirade against His
Majesty Ind his manner of life. When he drew breath I thought that the time
had come to express disapproval of his plan and I used all th e ^gnments wffich
Yasin and I had found against it the day before. I then said that I thought
he should lose no time in discussing it with the Prime Minister, and I suggested
that he and Yasin should dine with me at the Embassy on the following day and
talk the whole matter over. Nuri agreed to do this, and added that he had
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