The Other "Gulf War"-The British Invasion of Iraq in 1941

Forums: History
Email this Topic • Print this Page

The Other "Gulf War"-The British Invasion of Iraq in 1941
by Douglas Porch

The present debate over "regime change" in Iraq conceals a little known irony-it offers a cast of characters and a reprise of arguments that shaped an earlier invasion of that country. The invasion in question was not the Gulf War of 1991-rather, it was the British invasion of 1941.

In May 1941, in the midst of a World War, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill ordered his reluctant Commander-in-Chief Middle East, General Sir Archibald Wavell, to march on Baghdad to effect a "regime change."

The British Prime Minister's arguments reflected many of those same concerns expressed today by members of the George W. Bush administration: British intervention would "pre-empt" Axis support for Rachid Ali, a violently anti-British Arab nationalist whose government threatened Britain's strategic position in the Mediterranean and the Middle East. It would strike a blow at a terrorist challenge orchestrated by a charismatic Islamic cleric.

British intervention also would protect oil reserves vital to the British war effort. Furthermore, Churchill was willing to wave aside offers of third-party mediation in favor of a "unilateralist" approach.

Conversely, Wavell's arguments against an invasion of Iraq mirrored contemporary objections-he simply lacked the resources to add Iraq to an impossibly extensive list of military commitments. A military attack, Wavell believed, would make Britain's position in the Middle East less, not more, secure.

Better let sleeping dogs lie and take care of pressing business elsewhere.

For the rest of the story, including the connection between the Nazis and the ruler of Iraq:
http://www.ccc.nps.navy.mil/si/dec02/middleEast.asp

Topic Stats
Top Replies
Link to this Topic

Type: Discussion • Score: 1 • Views: 1,000 • Replies: 15

No top replies

BBB
I thought I knew a lot about the lead up to and during WWII, but I didn't know the extent of Iraq's Grand Mufti involvement with the Nazis. I was interested in learning about his actions that helped lead to the Holocaust.

The History Chennel presented the story of these events last week. I was glad to find an article that covered the TV show's content.

BBB

0 Replies

Re: BBB

BumbleBeeBoogie wrote:

... but I didn't know the extent of Iraq's Grand Mufti involvement with the Nazis. I was interested in learning about his actions that helped lead to the Holocaust.
...

Could you give an example for that?

I know about the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, Haj Amin El Husseini, involvement. (Recently some further details were found - that's mentioned on some other, old thread here.)

I think, I know quite a bit about the Holocaust.

How did which of the Iraqui Grand Mufti's action lead to the Holocaust? I must admit that I really know nothing about such.

0 Replies

Walter
According to the History Channel's program, Hitler wanted to deport German Jews to Brittish occupied Jerusalem, but Iraq's Grand Mufti objected the introduction of Jews. Hitler then decided to kill the Jews instead of deporting them as the final solution.

I may not have this absolutely correct, but this is what I recall about the program.

BBB

0 Replies

Well, it was the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, Haj Amin El Husseini.

A short, but good essay: Arab Nationalists, Nazi-Germany and the Holocaust: an unlucky contemporaneity (Since it's from 2001, the latest findings are not included. See wikipedia: Mohammad Amin al-Husayni

The Holocaust didn't start in 1943, so his attitude towards the Nazis rarely had lead to it.

0 Replies

The Grand Mufti lived in Baghdad before he went to live in Berlin following an invitation by Hitler. It was there that his influence affected the outcome of the Holocaust. He did not want to increase the number of Jews in Arab lands.

Of particular concern to Britain were the intrigues of Amin al-Husseini, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem who had eventually sought refuge in Baghdad after being exiled from Palestine in October 1937.

Al-Husseini's delicate features and gentle manner accentuated by his deep blue eyes, trim goatee and soothing voice, camouflaged a zealous and violent disposition.

An ex-Ottoman artillery officer turned school teacher, al-Husseini had been sentenced by the British to ten years imprisonment for his part in orchestrating the 1920 anti-Jewish riots in Jerusalem. In an act of misplaced generosity, however, the British had pardoned him and allowed him to stand for Grand Mufti the following year, an office that normally went to a jurist whose task was to adjudicate disputes by issuing interpretations of Koranic law. The British calculated that, because al-Husseini had no following in the Arab community, they had nothing to lose.[1] It proved a desperate mistake.

As Grand Mufti, al-Husseini was poised to exploit Arab-Jewish tensions that sharpened considerably with the surge of Jewish immigration into Palestine in the 1930s. His anti-British and anti-Semitic venom found a receptive audience among a rising Palestinian middle class, ironically an offspring of economic activity stimulated by Jews, who looked to the Mufti for political leadership. He directed squads of hit men to attack Jewish settlements and assassinate moderate Arabs who urged compromise, men increasingly marginalized by the recrudescence of Islamic fundamentalism.

As President of the Supreme Muslim Council, the most authoritative Palestinian religious body, the Mufti controlled appointments to Muslim schools, courts, and significant trust funds that he used, among other things, to spread his message in Iraq and Syria, and to purchase arms.

0 Replies

Well, BBB, I don't doubt that at all - but it was the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem and not the Iraqui Grand Mufti :wink:

0 Replies

What is this ?
'' As Grand Mufti, al-Husseini was poised to exploit Arab-Jewish tensions that sharpened considerably with the surge of Jewish immigration into Palestine in the 1930s. His anti-British and anti-Semitic venom ....''

al-Husseini , an Arab, was 'anti -semitic' ???
Did he hate himself ?

0 Replies

You are of technically correct, Jock, however, most people, including you in all probability, are aware of the fact that in common usage the term "anti semitic" is synonymous to anti Jewish.

0 Replies

yes , but that doesn't make it correct .
Its a devious way, to label folk as racist , even if they themselves are semitic , A cowards response huh , from the great ethnic cleansers .
Steal land and the cry foul about the victims of the crime

0 Replies

Jock, that is true only if you wish to read it that way.

0 Replies

Truth is truth .

0 Replies

You will have a hard time communicating if you insist on taking words and expressions in a way that you know is not what is intended.

0 Replies

what ?

0 Replies

I assume that's an attempt at humorous sarcasm. In any event, this discourse is terminated.

0 Replies

who do you think you are, boy . pompous little twit .

0 Replies

The Other "Gulf War"-The British Invasion of Iraq in 1941

Related Topics

Quick Links

My Account

able2know