Papers of the Interdepartmental Conference on Middle Eastern Affairs [‎84v] (168/290)

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But in February the War Office decided to stop^it; now they again
wished to proceed with it.
General Clarke explained that the War Office had not intended
to interfere with the policy laid down by the Conference, but that
they had postponed, or accelerated, the execution of this policy in
accordance with the changing military situation. The completion
of the Euphrates link would enable a great economy in personnel
to be effected on the Kirkuk line.
General Lubbock, in reply to Mr. Waterfield, said that the
Euphrates link would be completed by the end of the present year.
Expenditure could be reduced to what was strictly necessary for
the linking.
Mr. Waterfield, in reply to the Chairman, said he understood
1,250,000L was required for completing the Euphrates link. The
total amount required for the War Office proposals would be, lie
understood, l,64b,000Z. for the current year and 630,0<)0/. for
1920-1921. The War Office had, very roughly, about 750,000/.
available under their estimates. The difficulty was to find the
money this year.
The Chairman agreed. Beferring to the War Office
justification of the Kirkuk line on grounds of military necessity, he
pointed out that, in the absence of any representative of the
C.I.G.S., the Conference could not satisfy itself as to the strategic
necessity for maintaining troops in the Suleimanieh area and at
Mosul. The Quartern'aster-General had laid his case before the
Conference, but strategic considerations were at the root of the
whole question and these must be discussed before the nature and
scope of the recommendation to be made to the Treasury could be
decided.
He asked Mr. Shuckburgh to arrange for Mr. Montagu and the
Director of Military Operations to meet him informally for the
purpose of discussing the question of military policy and of drawing
up a recommendation to the Chancellor of the Exchequer.
Foreign Office,
July 28, 1919.
(Initialled) C. of K.