مجموعة ١٧ / ١٠ (٤) "شؤون داخلية: الوضع السياسي؛ العلاقات مع الحكومة البريطانية" [ظ‎‎٣‎٦] (١٠٣١/٧٢)

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6 . When Bagdad was freed at the end of Ma); 1941 by a small column that
could scarcely have reached here had the desert tribes thrown in then o wi
Rashid Ali, it became clear that the country in the main was with us, and was
much relieved to see the last of that traitor and his gang. But many pro-Uerman
pockets still existed, especially in the towns, and there was still the dangei o
German invasion—invasion from two sides, for at the end of 1941 the enemy stood
both upon the frontiers of Egypt and in the foothills of the Caucasus. In these||
circumstances my aim was—
{a) To secure full facilities for our war requirements and unimpeded oppor
tunities for training and defensive measures by our navy, army and
Royal Air Force.
(b) To root out pro-Nazis and bring about a change in public feeling, both to
facilitate {a) and, looking further ahead, to consolidate our future
position by making people realise the advantage of alliance with us.
(c) Unofficially and in the hope of helping to create greater stability, to
influence the administration as far as possible, but not to the extent
of causing a crisis and so jeopardising {a) and {b). Owing to my per
sonal knowledge of the working of the governmental machine and my
old friendship with Ministers, shaikhs and others, I happened to be
favourably placed for this.
7. To attain {a) and (b) it was necessary to get in touch with all classes of
society, who had been neglected for years, and to proceed by a co-ordinated plan.
Accordingly, I formed a political advisory staff, whose duty was to act as liaison
officers between our army and Iraqi officials, especially in the provinces, to fight
enemy propaganda, to make friends with leaders and, generally, to restore British
influence. I was extremely fortunate in securing the services of several officers
who had long experience of Iraq and were liked and respected by its inhabitants.
They, with their young assistants, have produced remarkable results. They
quickly helped to stabilise the country, and they are now frequently invited to
assist in administrative problems. They have worked closely with the Public
Relations staff, which, in addition to ordinary propaganda work of press and
radio, has done much to increase knowledge of Britain and the British by the
establishment of reading rooms, the operation of travelling cinemas, and above all
by establishing personal contact with people in all walks of life. The Ikhwan al
Hurriyah, or Brotherhood of Freedom, is a third organisation which has helped
to establish touch with the people, not only in Bagdad but in provincial towns also.
Fourthly, in Bagdad, Mosul, Basra and Kirkuk the British Council has made a
valuable contribution in bringing about a better understanding of our country and
its aims. Finally, tribute must be paid to the work of the British military mission,
of British advisers and many other of the Iraqi Government officials, and of the
area liaison officers under the orders of Combined Intelligence Centre, Iraq. Nor
must mention be omitted of the British army, which, by its traditional straight
dealing and good behaviour, has done a great deal to heal old wounds. It is,
indeed, a source of gratification to me, and a real tribute to the personnel con
cerned, that all these different bodies have worked closely and amicably to°-ether
and with general headquarters and this embassy.
8 . In short, it has been my endeavour to establish, through every possible
means, closer relations between Iraqis of all classes and individual Britons
and I now have the satisfaction of recording that to-day Britons and Iraqis
mix far more than they ever did before. My task has been made easier by the
fact that Iraqis as a whole were not with Rashid Ali, and that his revolt came
as a profound shock to them. They were ashamed, and wanted to make amends.
Consequently we received full co-operation, both from the Government and
from the people as a whole, even in the most difficult days of 1941 and 1942.
As a proof of this, it is to be noted that suspects of all kinds were energetically
rounded up and interned, that the Iraqi authorities themselves, of their own
motion, tried and hanged three of the four members of the Golden Square who
fell into their hands, and that all Rashid Ali’s Ministers who are not in exile
are in prison. Not a murmur has been heard from anyone against the execution
of thes.e drastic sentences.
9. As regards the question of influencing the Administration, it is not
perhaps always realised how difficult Iraq is to govern. Unlike Egypt and the
Levant, before the British occupation Iraq had been subject to almost no
Western influences. The country consisted in fact of three of the most neglected
provinces of a moribund empire. In addition, it was and is divided by secular
feuds and differences—the Shia still nurtures his 1.000-year-old resentment