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Coll 30/160(S) 'C.I.D. Sub Committee for questions concerning Middle East: Measures to influence minor powers & Arab States whose assistance might be of value in time of war.' [‎31r] (61/679)

The record is made up of 1 file (338 folios). It was created in 8 Apr 1938-18 Feb 1942. 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. .

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( other British protected States.
It would appear from
2 .
Sir T. C. Fowls’s memorandum that in fact in the last war we
did not in any way treat the territories of these rulers
as neutral territories and that our actions there would
have entitled any of our enemies in the late war to consider
them as belligerent territory, though in fact the question
whether they were to be considered neutral or belligerent
was never raised or decided in any direct and concrete form.
Possibly the records of the Foreign Office or the India
Office may throw further light on this point. In any case,
as Sir T.C.Fowls correctly observes, in present conditions
when the territories of these rulers are from the British
point of view the Suez Canal of the air as well as being
the sources of most Important oil supplies , it would seem
obvious that our action and conduct there must be such as
to make it inevitable that any contention that the
territories are neutral territories would be patently false,
and that it would be Impossible to keep up any fiction that
they were in any respect neutral territory. I think
therefore we should have to proceed on the assumption that
they must be regarded as belligerent territories
participating in the war in the same way as British
i territories in general.
4. The position of Muscat is different because it is
technically an independent State enjoying relations with
other countries besides His Majesty's Government, but in
fact our influence with the ruler of Muscat is so
preponderant that I presume that if we found it necessary to
do so, we should put pressure on him to declare war and come
into it as an ally of the British Thipire. I do not know,
however, that the practical considerations involved would
lead

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The file contains papers relating to the Committee of Imperial Defence (CID) Standing Official Sub-Committee for Questions concerning the Middle East. The Sub-Committee had been charged by the Committee of Imperial Defence to 'investigate and report on the measures which might be taken, either before or on the outbreak of war, to influence those Minor Powers and Arab States whose assistance or even benevolent neutrality might be of value to us in time of war' (folio 77). The work of the Sub-Committee focussed on Turkey, Iran, Iraq, Transjordan Used in three contexts: the geographical region to the east of the River Jordan (literally ‘across the River Jordan’); a British protectorate (1921-46); an independent political entity (1946-49) now known as Jordan , Saudi Arabia, the Yemen, and the Arab States of the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , and the papers contain reports and discussions of British policy in relation to all those countries.

The papers contain memoranda drawn up by the Foreign Office, 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. , the War Office, and other British Government departments, and by British representatives in Iran, Saudi Arabia, Aden, etc. for submission to the Sub-Committee; agenda and minutes of meetings of the Sub-Committee; reports of the Sub-Committee; and 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. minutes.

The Arab shaikhdoms of the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. and Muscat were said by 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. to be of importance to the British Government because of their situation on the air route to India, and in their significance as actual and potential sources for the supply of oil (folio 285); folio 327, folios 285-289, folio 98, and folios 4-44 relate particularly to the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. .

The file includes a divider, which gives a list of correspondence references contained in the file by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.

Extent and format
1 file (338 folios)
Arrangement

The papers are arranged in approximate 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 339; 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. A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.

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English in Latin script
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Coll 30/160(S) 'C.I.D. Sub Committee for questions concerning Middle East: Measures to influence minor powers & Arab States whose assistance might be of value in time of war.' [‎31r] (61/679), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/3896A, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100054919620.0x000040> [accessed 29 March 2024]

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