Papers of the War Cabinet's Eastern Committee [‎104v] (208/544)

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Situation at Baku.
Persia: Arrest of
Obeidullah.
between him and King Hussein, as most of the Bedouin tribes are
Wahabis and belong to the Akhwan Confederation. Some of these
tribes live, or rather roam, in the Iledjaz, and these King Hussein
has succeeded in securing by presents of arms and money. If these
subsidies ceased, they would more naturally revert to Ibn Sand.
In addition to this fundamental cause, the sheikhs are jealous of
each other, and there is a great deal of jealousy between Ibn Saud
and King Hussein. All Arabs genuinely hate the lurks, but they
still have a feeling that the Central Powers will win in the end, and
so “sit on the fence.” The Arabs are great politicians, and they
get verv good information from newsagents in Damascus. These
agents travel freely down to Aneizeh in Kasim. It was unlikely
that Ibn Saud contemplated making terms with the Turk, as he
had taken the Turkish province of El Hasa. An Arab sheikh
was not in a position to act as an autocrat. He had to pay
attention to the public opinion of the tribes. It was unlikely that
he would be supported by this public opinion in any attempt to
fight Ibn Rashid. He (Lieutenant-Colonel Hamilton) thought that Ibn
Rashid desired to remain independent, and knew that if the Turks
disappeared he and his tribesmen would pass under the control of
Ibn Saud, in addition to which the Turkish retention of Damascus
enabled them to exercise effective pressure upon Ibn Rasheid’s
capital at Hail. The Sultans of Turkey had always been extremely
kind to Ibn Rashid’s family. Numerically speaking, two-thirds
of the Shammar tribes were friendly to the British and to the Arab
movement, but the Rashid family and the remaining third, forming
the strongest section, still kept in with the Turk.
Ideut.-Colonel Hamilton thought that Ibn Saud would not
attack the She reef as, in order to do so, he would have to combine
with Ibn Rashid, and this was out of the question. Further, Ibn
Saud was absolutely dependent upon supplies received with our
assent and assistance from the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. . He thought a
meeting between the two principals, namely, Ibn Saud and King
Hussein, might help matters, and even if the two principals did not
meet, a meeting between Shereef Abdulla and Mahomed Ibn Saud,
the brother of Abdul Aziz Ibn Saud, might result in a modus
vivendi.
Lieut.-Colonel Gribbon said that information had been received
to the effect that Ibn Rashid talked of going to Constantinople
shortly.
2. The Chairman referred to the telegram which had been
received since the last meeting in regard to the very unsatisfactory
situation at Baku.
Lieut.-Colonel Gribbon read to the meeting a telegram which
had been received that morning from General Marshall (X. 1785)
dated 2nd September, which contained a copy of a telegram he had
sent to General Dunsterville, ordering the evacuation of Baku. It
appeared, however, from a telegram received from the Senior Naval
Officer in Baghdad, that Baku had either fallen or was about to fall,
and that it was unlikely that General Dunsterville had been able to
evacuate the place in time.
3. With reference to Foreign Office telegram No. 765 (E.C. 1396)
from Sir Charles Marling at Teheran, Lord Hardinge reported that the
matter was being dealt with by the Foreign Office departmentally
with the War Office.