Records of Saudi Arabia 1902

Turkey and Her Arab Neighbours 1953–1958

ISBN: (13) 978-1-85207-841-6 Extent: 1 volume, 250 pages

Editor: Dr Ara Sanjian Published: 2001
Paper: Printed on acid free paper
Binding: Library bindings with gilt finish

See sample pages: not available
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RESUMÉ
Unusually in the Archive Editions list this title is an academic monograph and has no facsimile papers attached. It does, however, have a wealth of references and it provides a sound background to the kind of international relations between the Arab States which we would expect a user of our main list to find invaluable.
This study focuses on an important, albeit relatively short, period in Turkish-Arab relations
and uses a variety of source material in five different languages: ... It studies Turkey´s relations with her Arab neighbours, Syria and Iraq, and, to a lesser extent, with the other Arab states of the Middle East, in particular Egypt, Lebanon and Jordan, during the period of the formulation and the eventual collapse of the Baghdad Pact. It also touches upon Turkey´s changing attitude towards Israel and the Palestine question, as well as the changes in the official Turkish evaluation of the policies of the charismatic Egyptian leader, Gamal ´Abd al-Nasir.

HISTORICAL OVERVIEW

From the Preface, by Dr Ara Sanjian

Turkey´s renewed activism in Middle Eastern politics since the collapse of the Soviet Union
and Iraq´s invasion of Kuwait in 1990, in particular her deepening political and military
ties with Israel, her ongoing diplomatic disputes with both Syria and Iraq over the use of
the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, the links which Ankara says its two Arab neighbours have
with the Kurdish insurgency inside Turkey, have all combined to rekindle academic interest in
the history of Turkish-Arab relations.

Turks and Arabs have been neighbours for centuries and, for some four hundred years, most of
the Arab-populated lands in the Middle East were part of the Ottoman empire. Even after that
empire´s disintegration at the end of the First World War, geography has dictated that Turkey
and the newly-established Arab states south of her border continue to pay regular and due
attention to each other´s motives and policies when pursuing their separate political
agendas.

CONTENTS OUTLINE

Chapter Headings
1. Turks and Arabs in the Cold War Setting
2. The Middle East Collective Defence Project and Its Impact on Turkish-Arab Relations
3. The ´Northern Tier´ Project
4. The Formulation of the Baghdad Pact
5. The Search for More Arab Allies
6. Divergence in Policy
7. The Suez War: expectations and disappointment
8. The Fightback
9. "Perhaps the Gravest Crisis since the War..."
10. The Era of the Two Arab Unions
11. The End of the Road: revolution in Iraq
Index.

KEY DOCUMENTS

Extract from CHAPTER 11: The End of the Road: Revolution in Iraq
In the early morning of 14 July 1958, rebel military units toppled the Iraqi monarchy. King Faysal II, Crown Prince ‘Abd al-Ilah and Nuri al-Sa‘id, the Prime Minister of the Arab Union, were killed during the take-over. A revolutionary government, led by Brigadier ‘Abd al-Karim Qasim, was formed It consisted of a mixture of army officers, former opposition politicians and representatives of banned political parties and immediately announced its adherence to the neutralist principles of the 1955 Bandung Conference. The Baghdad Pact headquarters in the Iraqi capital were closed and padlocked, and members of its secretariat debarred from access to their offices. The Arab Union was unilaterally dissolved, and all measures taken and laws passed in Iraq in accordance with the constitution of the Arab Union were immediately considered null and void.
The 14 July coup immediately altered the nature of Egyptian-Iraqi relations. ‘Abd al-Nasir had known for some time that a group of Iraqi ‘Free Officers’ had been preparing a coup. The latter, in turn, had expected the government in Cairo to support their new regime. They had even agreed secretly that they would immediately join the UAR, if they encountered stiff opposition from monarchists. News of the coup were received jubilantly in Cairo and Damascus. Later that day, the UAR became the first state to recognise the new regime. ‘Abd al-Nasir pledged to defend Iraq against any external attack and, on 19 July, he signed in Damascus an agreement to that effect with a visiting high-level Iraqi delegation. A UAR military mission arrived in Baghdad the next week, followed by shipments of arms and ammunition.
The Soviet Union recognised the rebel government of ‘Abd al-Karim Qasim on 16 July 16. She also agreed immediately to the Iraqi proposal to re-establish full diplomatic relations between Baghdad and Moscow, that had been broken off by Nuri in 1955. Recognitions by other Communist states followed.

Turkey, the 14 July Coup and the US/UK Intervention in Lebanon and Jordan
For Western powers and their friends in the Middle East, the change of regime in Iraq was not welcome. The brutalities committed by the Baghdad mob during the military take-over, including an attack against the Turkish cemetery in Baghdad and the Turkish Information Office, added to their distaste...