Iraq Between Two Empires: Great Britain, Arab Nationalism, and the Origins of American Power

Abstract

The first challenges Roosevelt faced in the Midle East occurred in Iraq and Egypt, where the British sought to remove governments hostile to their interests. The Americans disagreed over the proper course of action when the British overthrew the government of Rashid Ali in the spring of 1941 and restored the pro-British faction. Washington debated how to reconcile Wilsonian principles with the realities of Alliance politics. The British invasion of May 1941 occurred three months prior to the Atlantic Charter and more than six months before America entered the war. No one in Washington seriously discussed supporting the Iraqis, or even issuing statements of concern about British actions. The American minister in Baghdad, Paul Knabenshue, supported British objectives throughout the crisis.

It is no doubt partly because Iraqi and Arab standards generally have not achieved a high level that we occupy our present position of predominance in the Middle East.

Sir Basil Newton, Ambassador to Iraq, September 1940.¹

We have certainly treated the Arabs very well, having installed King Feisal and his descendants upon the Throne of Iraq and maintained them there.

Winston Churchill, April 1943.²