Arab Bureau terms of reference January 1916

The Arab Bureau was a section of the Cairo Intelligence Department established in 1916 during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, and closed in 1920, whose purpose was the collection and dissemination of

propaganda Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded ...

and intelligence about the Arab regions of the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

.Westrate, p.xii According to a

Committee of Imperial Defence The Committee of Imperial Defence was an important ''ad hoc'' part of the Government of the United Kingdom and the British Empire from just after the Second Boer War until the start of the Second World War. It was responsible for research, and som ...

paper from 7 January 1916, the Arab Bureau was established to "harmonise British political activity in the

Near East The ''Near East''; he, המזרח הקרוב; arc, ܕܢܚܐ ܩܪܒ; fa, خاور نزدیک, Xāvar-e nazdik; tr, Yakın Doğu is a geographical term which roughly encompasses a transcontinental region in Western Asia, that was once the hist ...

... ndkeep the

Foreign Office Foreign may refer to: Government * Foreign policy, how a country interacts with other countries * Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in many countries ** Foreign Office, a department of the UK government ** Foreign office and foreign minister * Unit ...

, the

India Office The India Office was a British government department established in London in 1858 to oversee the administration, through a Viceroy and other officials, of the Provinces of India. These territories comprised most of the modern-day nations of I ...

, the Committee of Defence, the

War Office The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (MoD). This article contains text from ...

, the

Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong *Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral *Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings * Admiralty, Traf ...

, and

Government of India The Government of India ( ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...

simultaneously informed of the general tendency of Germano-Turkish Policy." Bruce Westrate wrote in his 1992 history of the Arab Bureau that "the agency has subsequently borne much of the blame for Britain's terrible mishandling of Middle Eastern policy during and shortly after World War I."

History

Beginnings

It was constituted on the initiative of

Mark Sykes Colonel Sir Tatton Benvenuto Mark Sykes, 6th Baronet (16 March 1879 – 16 February 1919) was an English traveller, Conservative Party politician, and diplomatic advisor, particularly with regard to the Middle East at the time of the First Wo ...

who, in December 1915, reported to

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

that, in a recent tour of the

from

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning the North Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via a land bridg ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

, he had discovered that the German and Turkish Governments were widely distributing anti-British wartime

that countered British efforts and action in the Middle East. Sykes was concerned because British command posts in the Middle East were generally uncooperative and thus far unable to produce effective

counterpropaganda Counterpropaganda is a form of communication consisting of methods taken and messages relayed to oppose propaganda which seeks to influence action or perspectives among a targeted audience. It is closely connected to propaganda as the two often empl ...

. Sykes proposed the creation of a London office under his auspices to gather, filter, and distribute

intelligence Intelligence has been defined in many ways: the capacity for abstraction, logic, understanding, self-awareness, learning, emotional knowledge, reasoning, planning, creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving. More generally, it can ...

on the German and Turkish Middle East policy and "co-ordinate propaganda in favour of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

among non-Indian

Moslem Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

s."

Support

Sykes' proposal was welcomed by Gilbert Clayton, the director of civilian and military intelligence in Egypt and Sudan. Clayton believed that such an office might not only discover and counter enemy propaganda but be capable of overseeing a wider collection of political and military information regarding the Middle East and in turn produce easily understood reports to inform policymaking in

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metr ...

and London toward the Ottoman Arab territories.

Opposition

Clayton's preference for locating the Arab Bureau in Cairo met with resistance from the Indian Government (under the Viceroy

Charles Hardinge Charles Hardinge, 1st Baron Hardinge of Penshurst, (20 June 1858 – 2 August 1944) was a British diplomat and statesman who served as Viceroy and Governor-General of India from 1910 to 1916. Background and education Hardinge was the second ...

) and the India Office (under the Secretary of State for India,

Austen Chamberlain Sir Joseph Austen Chamberlain (16 October 1863 – 16 March 1937) was a British statesman, son of Joseph Chamberlain and older half-brother of Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain. He served as Chancellor of the Exchequer (twice) and was briefly ...

), who did not want interference in their control of territories around the

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a mediterranean sea in Western Asia. The bo ...

and particularly the

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

provinces that they planned to occupy and cultivate for

grain A grain is a small, hard, dry fruit ( caryopsis) – with or without an attached hull layer – harvested for human or animal consumption. A grain crop is a grain-producing plant. The two main types of commercial grain crops are cereals and legum ...

production for India. Newly discovered

oil deposits A petroleum reservoir or oil and gas reservoir is a subsurface accumulation of hydrocarbons contained in porous or fractured rock formations. Such reservoirs form when kerogen (ancient plant matter) is created in surrounding rock by the presence ...

located around the North Gulf brought further attention to the region. But the director of

Naval Intelligence Military intelligence is a military discipline that uses information collection and analysis approaches to provide guidance and direction to assist commanders in their decisions. This aim is achieved by providing an assessment of data from a ...

in Britain, Captain Reginald 'Blinker' Hall, supported Clayton's concept and urged government approval.

Establishment

The result was a compromise. In January 1916, the Arab Bureau was established as a section of Sudan Intelligence in Cairo, ultimately answering to the High Commissioner in Egypt ( Henry McMahon) who in turn was overseen by the

and the

Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs The secretary of state for foreign, Commonwealth and development affairs, known as the foreign secretary, is a minister of the Crown of the Government of the United Kingdom and head of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. Seen as ...

( Edward Grey) in London. It was staffed by Middle East experts from military intelligence, Egypt Force who shared Clayton's outlook.Polly Mohs, ''Military Intelligence in the Arab Revolt'', (New York, 2008), pp. 34–36.

Closure

Arnold Wilson Sir Arnold Talbot Wilson (18 July 1884 – 31 May 1940) was a British soldier, colonial administrator, Conservative politician, writer and editor. Wilson served under Percy Cox, the colonial administrator of Mesopotamia (Mandatory Iraq) ...

later wrote that:

The Arab Bureau in Cairo died unregretted in 1920, having helped to induce His Majesty's Government to adopt a policy which brought disaster to the people of Syria, disillusionment to the Arabs of Palestine and ruin to the Hijaz.

Staff

Gilbert Clayton was named head or "chief" of the Arab Bureau. David Hogarth, a

naval intelligence Military intelligence is a military discipline that uses information collection and analysis approaches to provide guidance and direction to assist commanders in their decisions. This aim is achieved by providing an assessment of data from a ...

officer, was acting director of the Arab Bureau and Kinahan Cornwallis his deputy.

Herbert Garland Major Herbert Garland Order of the British Empire, OBE Military Cross, MC Chemical Society, FCS Institute of Metals, M. Inst. Metals (1880 – 2 April 1921) was a British metallurgist and army officer. An Royal Army Ordnance Corps, Army Ordnanc ...

, George Ambrose Lloyd, George Stewart Symes, Philip Graves,

Gertrude Bell Gertrude Margaret Lowthian Bell, CBE (14 July 1868 – 12 July 1926) was an English writer, traveller, political officer, administrator, and archaeologist. She spent much of her life exploring and mapping the Middle East, and became highl ...

Aubrey Herbert Colonel The Honourable Aubrey Nigel Henry Molyneux Herbert (3 April 1880 – 26 September 1923), of Pixton Park in Somerset and of Teversal, in Nottinghamshire, was a British soldier, diplomat, traveller, and intelligence officer associat ...

, William Ormsby-Gore, Thomas Edward Lawrence,

Alfred Guillaume Alfred Guillaume (8 November 1888 – 30 November 1965) was a British Christian Arabist, scholar of the Hebrew Bible / Old Testament and Islam. Career Guillaume was born in Edmonton, Middlesex, the son of Alfred Guillaume. He took up Arabic ...

and

Tracy Philipps James Erasmus Tracy Philipps (20 November 1888 – 21 July 1959) was a British public servant. Philipps was, in various guises, a soldier, colonial administrator, traveller, journalist, propagandist, conservationist, and secret agent. He served ...

were also part of the Arab Bureau. In 1920, Garland was appointed director, under High Commissioner to Egypt Lord Allenby.

References

Bibliography

* ''

A Peace To End All Peace ''A Peace to End All Peace: The Fall of the Ottoman Empire and the Creation of the Modern Middle East'' (also subtitled ''Creating the Modern Middle East, 1914–1922'') is a 1989 history book written by Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction fina ...

'',

David Fromkin David Henry Fromkin (August 27, 1932 June 11, 2017) was an American historian, best known for his interpretive account of the Middle East, ''A Peace to End All Peace'' (1989), in which he recounts the role European powers played between 1914 an ...

, Avon Books, New York, 1990. * '' Arabian Personalities of the Early Twentieth Century with a new Introduction by Robin Bidwell '' (reprints from Bureau's '' Handbooks '') The Oleander Press 1986, {{ISBN, 0-906672-39-2. * '' Military Intelligence and the Arab Revolt: The First Modern Intelligence War'', Polly Mohs, Routledge, New York, 2008. * '' The Arab Bureau'', Bruce Westrate, Penn State Press, 1992.

External links

*Seikaly, Samir
Arab Bureau
in

Middle Eastern theatre of World War I Defunct United Kingdom intelligence agencies British propaganda organisations