Lords of the Desert by James Barr

Author:James Barr
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Basic Books
Published: 2018-09-10T16:00:00+00:00

CLANDESTINE BRITISH ACTION had derailed the arbitration but not killed it off altogether because the agreement that had established it provided for the replacement of any members who resigned. The Foreign Office summarized the options for Macmillan. The British government could either continue with the process once the tribunal was reconstituted or renege on the arbitration agreement by abandoning the tribunal. While continuing might avoid or postpone an international row, the new panel would be just as susceptible to Saudi pressure as its predecessor, British participation would look like acquiescence to bribery, and when, almost inevitably, the arbitration went against the British, the local loss of faith in the value of British protection would be profound. Macmillan’s officials recommended confronting the problem head-on. The government, they argued, “must… announce that the Agreement has been terminated by Saudi action, re-occupy the area and be prepared to defend it diplomatically and militarily.”4

The British knew that the Saudis had only managed to occupy Buraimi in 1952 thanks to Aramco’s support. They had agreed to a standstill because they were not confident that they would enjoy American support were Ibn Saud to carry out his threat to refer the matter to the Security Council. Their willingness now to confront the United States’ main ally in the region was an extraordinary sign of how far their thinking had moved on.

The collapse of the arbitration coincided with the discovery of the Soviet arms sale to Nasser, and it was not until October 20 that the cabinet formally discussed its options, after considering a Foreign Office report on Middle East Oil that warned that the region was slipping out of Britain’s grasp “because of the indigenous forces of nationalism, and because our enemies are making a greater effort than we.” Against this alarming backdrop, Macmillan favored informing the Americans that they were going to break off the arbitration, and then overpowering the Saudi police contingent without warning, to reduce the likelihood of casualties. But Eden clearly did not trust Washington not to tip off the Saudis. He preferred that “the disputed area should be reoccupied first, and an explanation given afterwards.” The cabinet agreed with him and, once the chiefs of staff had come up with a plan, approved Operation Bonaparte two days later. “Let’s hope it comes off,” the foreign secretary wrote in his diary.5

Before dawn on October 26, two parties of the Trucial Oman Levies—a British-led Arab force—drove from the camp into the neutral zone, surprising the Saudi police as they were washing before their dawn prayers. Following a fierce gun battle with tribesmen loyal to the sheikhs bought by the Saudis and a tug-of-war between the leader of the Saudi detachment and a British officer over a dispatch box, the British took control of the oasis. The box turned out to contain rupees amounting to a quarter of a million pounds and a mass of incriminating paperwork that showed that Quraishi had been lying under oath in Geneva and that Yassin knew what he was doing.

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