Klieman, Aaron, Foundations of British Policy In The Arab World: The Cairo Conference of 1921, Johns Hopkins University Press, 1970
At the end of World War I the English found themselves in possession of a large amount of Ottoman territory. London had made various promises to different groups which were often contradictory because it had no strategy for the region. In 1921 Colonial Secretary Winston Churchill organized a meeting in Egypt to attempt to find a solution to all these issues. The Cairo Conference came to shape much of the modern Middle East. That is the topic of Aaron Klieman’s Foundations of British Policy In The Arab World: The Cairo Conference of 1921. The author argues that Churchill was able to create a short term success for the British Empire which eventually collapsed.
Klieman sets the stage for the Cairo Conference by going over England’s obligations at the end of World War I. First, it had encouraged Sharif Hussein of Hijaz, modern day northern Saudi Arabia, to rise up against the Ottomans in return for an Arab state he would rule. Second, it made a secret deal with the French to divide up the Turks’ empire in the Middle East after the war known as the Sykes-Picot Agreement. Third it issued the Balfour Declaration for a Jewish homeland in Palestine. Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour commented that Britain’s obligations were impossible to fulfill because they were contradictory. How for example was there to be an Arab state if the region was to be split between London and Paris? This was why Churchill called for the Cairo Conference to try to make a unified policy out of these promises.
The book argues that it was Churchill’s leadership that shaped the Cairo Conference. The Colonial Secretary had three main objectives. First, he wanted to reduce costs as World War I had sapped England’s finances. To save money he looked to withdraw troops and find friendly leaders to run parts of the Middle East so that Britain wouldn’t have to. Second, he believed that London could keep all the promises it made during World War I. Finally, he wanted to maintain Britain’s position in the Arab world.
The author believes Churchill was able to achieve all that at Cairo. He advocated for the sons of Sharif Hussein to become the rulers of what became Iraq and Jordan while subsidizing their father. The British would then have allies across the Middle East that were dependent upon London for their positions and would comply with its wishes. Second, it agreed to France’s demands for Lebanon and Syria fulfilling the Sykes-Picot agreement. Third he appointed a Zionist High Commissioner for Palestine to help create a Jewish homeland there.
Klieman’s subsequent chapters are on how these decisions played out on the ground immediately after the Cairo Conference. His assessment was that Churchill was largely successful but in the long term failed. Faisal and his brother Abdullah became the rulers of Iraq and Transjordan respectively fulfilling England’s promise to Sharif Hussein. What the author thought was the fatal flaw in the Colonial Secretary’s plans was that he ignored Arab sentiment which was moving towards Arab nationalism. Eventually the governments London set up were resented by their populace as being puppets of a colonial power. That was a reason why the Iraqi monarchy was overthrown in 1958. The Palestine question also ran into problems from the start as Arabs and Jews could not find any compromises. The British attempts at mediation failed and it ended up trying to maintain the status quo which eventually collapsed. Again this was due to the British not consulting with the Arabs about what they thought about the Zionist plans which was Klieman’s argument.
Foundations of British Policy In The Arab World is very well written and researched. Even for an older book Klieman’s findings and arguments still hold up. The Cario Conference was a seminal event because it led to the creation of Iraq, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon and Israel. This was due to Churchill finding clarity amongst the chaos that was British policy at the end of World War I. Amazingly he was able to implement his strategy with little trouble in just one year. The aftermath led to all kinds of unintended consequences. The on going Arab-Israeli conflict would be the biggest. Klieman lays out the setting for the Churchill’s meetings, the discussions that took place there and then how it was followed through with and the results. It’s a must read for anyone that is interested in the modern Middle East.
Link to all of Musings On Iraq’s book reviews listed by topic
No comments:
Post a Comment