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Coll 17/10(4) 'Internal: political situation; relations with HMG' [‎179r] (357/1031)

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The record is made up of 1 file (515 folios). It was created in 10 Apr 1941-19 Mar 1947. It was written in English. The original is part of the British Library: India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity. .

Transcription

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[This telegram is of particular secrecy and should be retained
by the authorised recipient and not passed on]
CYPHER] WAR CABINET DISTRIBUTION ..,
FROM IRAQ
FROM BAGDAD TO FOREIGN OFFICE
Mr. Thompson. D, 11.35 p.m. 27th October, 191-2.
No*. 1078 . R. 3 , 4.5 a.m. 28th October, 191-2.
27th October, 19i,2.
Repeated to Minister of State No. 510.
999999999 . ,
IMPORTANT
My immediately preceding telegram.
When I arrived at Nuri Pasha’s office, Minister of Finance
was just leaving and former admitted that he had just been
hearing about my previous interview. After [grp. undec.]
skating rapidly over much ground already covered by Minister
of Finance and confirming that Council of Ministers had approved
the new policy, Prime Minister emphasised that none appreciated
better than he the necessity for close co-operation with the
British and United States authorities. Furthermore he quite
realised that if mistakes were made Iraq would have to meet the
consequences. It was with this knowledge that he had agreed
to SalCK,. Jab^.. , s proposals, a fact v/hich would illustrate
the confidence he reposed in them. He repeated.the views •
previously expressed in [sic ? by] me about Husam Udin Juma
(My_ tele gram 1062 ) and assured me that whatever happened to
Mr. Lloyd, Major Page would remain. He had given instructions
that there should be no backwardness in filling the posts of
Directors-General. He expressed the-personal opinion that
Minister of Finance would not (repeat not) be able, when it came
to the point, to find suitable Iraqis for this purpose and he
added that, had he been Hus&wt, he would never have accepted the
invitation to be DirectorHleneral. The long and short of it
was that if plan did not work out in practice it would have to
be modified.
2. As Nuri Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. was due to lunch with the Regent, I
could not prolong the interview unduly. In any event it appeared
useless to argue indefinitely as we are apparently confronted
with a temperament which nothing short of a Cabinet crisis seems
likely to alter. I got very strong impression that the Prime
Minister had been unable to hold the Minister of Finance and
had finally decided to give him his head and so perhaps let him
learn by experience. He is evidently having trouble in the
Cabinet/

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Content

This file is a continuation of IOR/L/PS/12/2862. It contains correspondence and memoranda regarding relations between HM Government ( HMG Her or His Majesty’s Government in London. ) and the Government of Iraq, and documents the reaction of the India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. and Foreign Office to political developments within Iraq. The file opens with descriptions of the situation following the coup d'état of Rashid Ali al-Gaylani, and documents the build-up to the Anglo-Iraqi War (2-31 May 1941), including the arrival of British and Indian troops in Basra (under rights granted in the Anglo-Iraq Treaty of 1930), arrangements to evacuate the Regent 'Abd al-Illah, British attempts to shore up support from the Turkish and Egyptian authorities, and Axis propaganda in Iraq. The papers then contain communications regarding the progress of the war, including reports on troop movements, the dispatch of war materials, the actions of Germany, Italy, France and Turkey, and Indian public opinion regarding the conflict. These papers consist of dispatches sent by the British Ambassador to Iraq (Sir Kinahan Cornwallis) to the Foreign Office, as well as numerous copy communications between the Senior Naval Officer in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , the Commander in Chief of the East Indies Section, the Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. Kuwait, the Viceroy of India, and HM Ambassador to the United States.

From the end of the war the file consists primarily of dispatches from Cornwallis to the Foreign Office, reporting on the return of the Regent, the pogrom against the Jewish community, the breaking of diplomatic relations with Vichy France and Japan, the trial of the coup supporters, the Iraqi declaration of war against Germany, Italy and Japan, the possibility of Iraqi membership of the United Nations, and the release of political prisoners from the Ammara [̔Amāra] concentration camp. The regular dispatches also contain details of various cabinet crises, and details of the domestic economic and military situation. The file contains a small amount of material for the years 1944-1946, including annual reports submitted by Cornwallis and his successor, Sir Hugh Stonehewer-Bird.

The file includes dividers which give lists of correspondence references found in the file by year. These are placed at the end of the correspondence (folios 2-4).

Extent and format
1 file (515 folios)
Arrangement

The papers are arranged in rough chronological order from the rear to the front of the file.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 515; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. side of each folio. An additional foliation sequence is also present in parallel between ff 2-514; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.

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English in Latin script
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Coll 17/10(4) 'Internal: political situation; relations with HMG' [‎179r] (357/1031), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/2863, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100041979750.0x0000a0> [accessed 3 May 2024]

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