ملف ٤٢/ ١٩٣١ "ادعاءات الإغارة في مناطق نجد-شرق الأردن" [و‎‎٢‎٩‎٤] (٩٣٠/٥٩٢)

ENCLOSURE II TO DESPATCH
SECRET OF 20.12.30.
NOTE ON POLICY FOR THE CONTROL OF THE
TRANS-JORDAN DESERTS BY CAPTAIN GLUBB.
19. 11. 30.
CENBRAL PPINCIPT.ES.
Tha ruling factor in all desert operations in
Arabia is tha vaatness of the distances involved. It
is absolutely hopeless to expect to be everywhere
present in sufficient force to deal with any disturbance
which may occur. As a result, the only policy to adopt
is to maintain touch with every area, and at the same
time to keep a central striking force with which one
can deal successive blows in each area in turn.
A study of the methods of all the preat Are-:
j^[ 0 rs of Arabia, fro n the original Ibn S&ouus, tv■
Mohammed Ibn a nhid and the present Ibn Saoud, will snow
that one and all have adopted this method, xhey had
practically no permanent garrisons in ouo districts,
but they maintained small parties, say 20 or 30 camelmen
amongst the tribes. Periodically they raised a force
of several thousand men and carried out a crushing rai.c,
against any tribe which was giving trouble.
I have seen correspondence on the files in Amman
suggesting that the only method of preventing raiding was
to establish chains of posts along the frontier, the
garrison of each post being sufficiently strong to sally
forth and repel any raid. With the vast distances
and