Coll 17/10(1) 'Internal: political situation; relations with HMG' [‎424v] (853/982)

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whatever his exact words might have been he was still speaking as a member of
the Opposition, and it was well understood in Iraq that no politician was obliged
to apply when in office, the principles which he had advocated when in Opposition.
If Yasin Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. came into the new Cabinet he would discard his hostility to the
treaty like an old coat. He had given the most solemn undertakings to work in
harmony with his new colleagues, and if he broke his word he would be discredited
and would have to go. At all events he would only be one amongst eight, and
would have to conform to the wishes of the Prime Minister and the other
Ministers. Moreover, foreign relations would be in the hands of Nuri Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. , the
very man who had concluded the treaty of 1930. Surely this fact was sufficient
to demonstrate that the new Government, in all that concerned Iraq's relations
with His Majesty’s Government and with other foreign countries, would follow
the same policy as that of the Governments of Nuri Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. and Naji Shaukat.
7 . His Majesty referred to my remark that the resignation of the Prime
Minister following on the recent debate in the Chamber and the coming into
office of a new Cabinet, composed largely of men who persisted in their opposition
to the 1930 treaty, could not fail to create perplexity in British official circles.
He asked me to convey to my Government the most emphatic assurance that these
strange happenings implied no change whatsoever in policy towards Great
Britain, and he begged me to emphasise that no importance should be attached
to the opinions voiced by Yasin Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. and others in regard to the treaty, since
in Iraq men always changed their views when they came into office and assumed
real responsibility.
8 . At this stage the King suggested that Nuri Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. should join us, as he
would be the man with whom I should have to deal when the new Cabinet was
formed. Nuri Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. then came in and remained with us for the rest of the
interview. Prompted by the King he supported His Majesty's view that what
Yasin Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. said before he became a Minister was of no consequence, but admitted
that if he were to criticise the treaty while in office it would be a different matter.
I said that though these argments had a superficial plausibility, they were at
bottom entirely specious and, moreover, presented a picture of public life in
Iraq which was both ridiculous and degrading. Was I to report to my Govern
ment that Iraq's public men, men who had held the highest positions in the State,
made speeches on solemn occasions in which they voiced opinions which they knew
to be false and meaningless ? Was I to say that the Iraqi Parliament was just
a sham, a place where time and money was wasted by a handful of men, who,
wnile masquerading as statesmen, neither meant what they said nor said what
they believed ? If words were treated as lightly as this in Iraq, what value could
be given to those solemn assurances and promises to which His Majesty attached
so much importance ? His Majesty had done me the honour to consult me about
nis pians for reorganising the Cabinet, and I had warned him of two dangers.
One was that of damaging his good relations with Great Britain, and the other
that of embarrassing the smooth working of the Government of his country by
endeavouring to combine in the Cabinet elements which were essentially hostile
and antipathetic to each other. In thus warning him I was not in the least
conceined with personalities, but solely with the policy of the Iraqi Government,
and subsequent events had only served to strengthen my feeling of the reality of
ne angeis to which I had alluded. Although I was ready to admit that His
• a J es - knew far more than I of the way in which the political game was played
j 11 f rac b 1 couid ass ure him that to any European observer the picture which he
and absurd ^ le an ^ CS ^ rac ti politicians could only appear humiliating
J 1 ereu P°u.threw himself into an emotional mood and bewailed
i a f had made him King of such a “distressful” country as Iraq,
_P ,, e a ^ teinatively to suffer the buffets of the people on one side and
h^ P ? Sent f at r e l l 1S Ma 3 est y’ s Government on the other. Could I not
fnllnwirur rJa 0 Vu Pe }est ■ -G 0 had decided on the course which he was
nnt qnd 0 ," Vi the most profound and careful consideration. He was worn
would ho flhi^T G ' . aiK h. e wa nted to-see if men could not be got together who
resDonsibiml V® ^ h ,™ ° f P'Y , of hls ^supportable burden of work and
themselves "For thoV^r t0 866 ^ ^ men tlle country really could govern
throo MnC Rustam * 1 HV<7 years , tp f. Government had been a dictatorship of
Kustam Haidar and himself. This could not be continued
indefinitely, and he had decided to
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