"ملف ٨٢/٢٧ III (F 84) شركة النفط الأنجلو فارسية أ.ب.و.ك: نفط قطر" [و‎‎١‎٨‎٢] (٦٣٨/٣٦٥)

(i)
£•
(iii) Minor raiding,
4# xii© Council uro fully laindful of the deterrent ex^ec'
which woulci re^ul& it. it -^exe ^ener^ll^ r jtziown ^liG
Majesty's GoTermaent would be pre .ared to support the Sheikh ir,
tii@ dvent oi his being &%, oaciced* I 4 hey liiu.'t observe, however 9
that tiiese contingencies all relate to aggression by land fro,a
the hinterland; and that in tiiese cirouxastancea it is
inevitable that the protejetive .measure a, apart from the
provision ox such detacnsienti.: as i t .ni, ..nt oe necessan r and
practicable to land from Lis Majesty 1 s ..ar ships for local
deienoe ox towns and aerodromes, and of such other land
forces as it might be found practicable to send frorn
elsewhere, must devolve upon the air forces nonaall/ located
in Iraq*
5* These forces, however, are situated a long distance
from Qatar, to which they would have to proceed by a route
where tne possibility of delays due to climatic Conditions
cannot be overlooked* again, these forces, wilier are already
fee low tne strength which the Council nave long regarded as
necessary in tne Middle hast, have to meet an ever increasing
number and diversity ox calls upon them, including
reiiuorceaent of distant theatres; and the Council certainly
could not undertake that they would be available under all
oireu instances to deal with contingencies in ..atar . X'iiese
difficulties would for all practical urposes be overcome if
a Air i'crce Squadron were located at Baiirein, but the
Council assume that the importance of the issue involved is
a ot in itself such as to justify the provision of such an
additional unit, and therefore cio not at present propose to
suggest such an increase#
^ Under these conditions the Air Council take the view
that the nature and limits of the protection which might be
given if the forces are available, are as follows:-