The Middle East Treaty Organization (METO), also known as the Baghdad Pact and subsequently known as the Central Treaty Organization (CENTO), was a military alliance of the Cold War. It was formed in 24 February 1955 by Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Turkey, and the United Kingdom. The alliance was dissolved in 16 March 1979. US pressure and promises of military and economic aid were key in the negotiations leading to the agreement, but the United States could not initially participate. John Foster Dulles, who was involved in the negotiations as United States Secretary of State under President

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...

, claimed that was due to "the pro-Israel lobby and the difficulty of obtaining Congressional Approval." Others said that the reason was "for purely technical reasons of budgeting procedures." In 1958, the US joined the military committee of the alliance. It is generally viewed as one of the least successful of the Cold War alliances. The organisation’s headquarters was in

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...

, Iraq from 1955 to 1958 and thereafter in

Ankara Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, mak ...

, Turkey from 1958 to 1979. Cyprus was also an important location for METO due to the British military bases in

Akrotiri and Dhekelia Akrotiri and Dhekelia, officially the Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia (SBA),, ''Periochés Kyríarchon Váseon Akrotiríou ke Dekélias''; tr, Ağrotur ve Dikelya İngiliz Egemen Üs Bölgeleri is a British Overseas Territories ...

along with the island's proximity to the Middle East.

History

Modeled after the

North Atlantic Treaty Organisation The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two Nor ...

(NATO), METO committed the nations to mutual cooperation and protection, as well as non-intervention in each other's affairs. Its goal was to contain the Soviet Union (USSR) by having a line of strong states along the Soviet Union's southwestern frontier. Similarly, it was known as the 'Northern Tier' to prevent Soviet expansion into the Middle East.

George Lenczowski George Lenczowski (''pol. Jerzy Lenczowski''; February 2, 1915 – February 19, 2000) was a lawyer, diplomat, scholar, and Professor of Political Science, Emeritus, at the University of California, Berkeley. Lenczowski was a pioneer in his fiel ...

, ''American Presidents and the Middle East'', 1990, p. 88 Unlike NATO, METO did not have a unified military command structure, nor were many American or British

military bases A military base is a facility directly owned and operated by or for the military or one of its branches that shelters military equipment and personnel, and facilitates training and operations. A military base always provides accommodations for ...

established in member countries, although the United States had communications and electronic intelligence facilities in Iran, and operated U-2 intelligence flights over the Soviet Union from bases in Pakistan. The United Kingdom had access to facilities in Pakistan and Iraq at various times while the treaty was in effect. On July 14, 1958, the Iraqi monarchy was overthrown in a military coup. The new government was led by General

Abdul Karim Qasim Abd al-Karim Qasim Muhammad Bakr al-Fadhli al-Zubaidi ( ar, عبد الكريم قاسم ' ) (21 November 1914 – 9 February 1963) was an Iraqi Army brigadier and nationalist who came to power when the Iraqi monarchy was overthrown du ...

who withdrew Iraq from the Baghdad Pact, opened diplomatic relations with Soviet Union and adopted a non-aligned stance. The organization dropped the name 'Baghdad Pact' in favor of 'CENTO' at that time. The Middle East and South Asia became extremely volatile areas during the 1960s with the ongoing

Arab–Israeli conflict The Arab–Israeli conflict is an ongoing intercommunal phenomenon involving political tension, military conflicts, and other disputes between Arab countries and Israel, which escalated during the 20th century, but had mostly faded out by th ...

and the

Indo-Pakistani wars Since the Partition of British India in 1947 and subsequent creation of the dominions of India and Pakistan, the two countries have been involved in a number of wars, conflicts, and military standoffs. A long-running dispute over Kashmir and ...

. CENTO was unwilling to get deeply involved in either dispute. In 1965 and 1971, Pakistan tried unsuccessfully to get assistance in its wars with India through CENTO, but this was rejected under the idea that CENTO was aimed at containing the Soviet Union, not India. CENTO did little to prevent the expansion of Soviet influence to non-member states in the area. Whatever containment value the pact might have had was lost when the Soviets 'leap-frogged' the member states, establishing close military and political relationships with governments in Egypt, Syria, Iraq, South Yemen, Somalia, and Libya. By 1970, the Soviet Union had deployed over 20,000 troops to Egypt, and had established naval bases in Syria, Somalia, and South Yemen. The Iranian Revolution spelled the end of the organization in 1979, but in reality, it essentially had been finished since 1974, when Turkey invaded Cyprus. This led the United Kingdom to withdraw forces that had been earmarked to the alliance, and the United States Congress halted military aid to Turkey despite two Presidential vetoes. With the fall of the Iranian monarchy, whatever remaining rationale for the organization was lost. Future U.S. and British defence agreements with regional countries—such as Pakistan, Egypt, and the Persian Gulf states—were conducted bilaterally. With the withdrawal of Iran, the Secretary-General of CENTO, Turkish diplomat Kamuran Gurun, announced on March 16, 1979, that he would call a meeting of the pact's council in order to formally dissolve the organization.

Membership

* (since April 1955), * (until March 1959), * (November 1955 — March 1979), * (September 1955 — March 1979), * ** Turkey's role in the Baghdad Pact was one of a unique and elevated nature compared to other nations such as Iraq. It was given "special" attention by the West primarily due to their geopolitical importance. It was believed that they could draw

Arab countries The Arab world ( ar, اَلْعَالَمُ الْعَرَبِيُّ '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, refers to a vast group of countries, mainly located in Western As ...

, such as Iraq, closer to the projected anti-communist Arab alliance, as the former would have been of inspiration for other “like-minded” countries. It was also hoped that by agreeing to the Baghdad Pact the Turkish and the Iraqi relations would get their time in the sun. However, this optimism was not rewarded as Iraq was under constant threat of the infiltration of Turkish troops and Nuri was desperate to strike an agreement. Finally, the Turkish courting by western nations, such as the USA, did not have the outcome that was desired as Arab countries, primarily Egypt, turned hostile to the pact.

Timeline

* February 1954: Turkey signs a Pact of Mutual Cooperation with Pakistan. * 19 May 1954: U.S. and Pakistan sign a Mutual Defense Assistance Agreement. * 24 February 1955: Iraq and Turkey sign a military agreement in Baghdad and the term "Baghdad Pact" started to be used. United Kingdom (5 April), Pakistan (23 September) and Iran (3 November) joined the Baghdad Pact in the same year. * October 1958: Baghdad Pact headquarters moved from Baghdad to Ankara. * 5 March 1959: U.S. signs military agreements with Pakistan, Iran and Turkey. * 24 March 1959: The new republican regime of Iraq withdrew the country from the alliance. * 19 August 1959: METO renamed CENTO. *1965: Pakistan tried to get help from its allies in its war against India. The United Nations Security Council passed Resolution 211 on September 20 and the United States and the United Kingdom supported the UN decision by cutting off arms supplies to both belligerents. *1971: In a new war with India, Pakistan again tried unsuccessfully to get allied assistance. (The U.S. provided limited military support to Pakistan, but not under the rubric of CENTO.) *1974: The United Kingdom withdraws forces from the alliance following the Turkish invasion of Cyprus. *11 March 1979: The new government of the Islamic Republic of Iran withdrew the country from CENTO. *12 March 1979: Pakistan withdraws from CENTO. *16 March 1979: CENTO is formally disbanded. United Kingdom and Turkey withdraws from CENTO.

Secretaries General

A Secretary General, appointed by the council of ministers for a renewable three years, oversaw CENTO activities. Secretaries general were:

CENTO railway

CENTO sponsored a railway line, some of which was completed, to enable a rail connection between London and Tehran via

Van A van is a type of road vehicle used for transporting goods or people. Depending on the type of van, it can be bigger or smaller than a pickup truck and SUV, and bigger than a common car. There is some varying in the scope of the word across th ...

. A section from

Lake Van Lake Van ( tr, Van Gölü; hy, Վանա լիճ, translit=Vana lič̣; ku, Gola Wanê) is the largest lake in Turkey. It lies in the far east of Turkey, in the provinces of Van and Bitlis in the Armenian highlands. It is a saline soda lake, ...

in Turkey to Sharafkhaneh in Iran was completed and funded in large part by CENTO (mainly the UK). The civil engineering was especially challenging because of the difficult terrain. Part of the route included a rail ferry across Lake Van with a terminal at

Tatvan Tatvan ( ) is a city on the western shore of Lake Van. It is the chief city of Tatvan District within Bitlis Province in eastern Turkey, and has about 96,000 inhabitants. The current Mayor is Mehmet Emin Geylani ( AKP). The district is fully Kurd ...

on the Western side of the lake. Notable features of the railway on the Iranian side included 125 bridges, among them the Towering Quotor span, measuring in length, spanning a gorge deep.

Cultural and research institutions

Like its counterparts NATO and SEATO, CENTO sponsored a number of cultural and scientific research institutions: * CENTO Conferences on Teaching Public Health and Public Health Practice * CENTO Cultural Works Programme * CENTO Institute of Nuclear & Applied Science * CENTO Scientific Coordinating Board * CENTO Scientific Council * CENTO Symposia on Rural Development The institutions supported a wide range of non-military activities, with a particular focus on agriculture and development, In 1960, for example, CENTO had funded 37 projects covering agriculture, education, health, economic development and transportation. It also arranged at least one symposium on the problem of

foot-and-mouth Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) or hoof-and-mouth disease (HMD) is an infectious and sometimes fatal viral disease that affects cloven-hoofed animals, including domestic and wild bovids. The virus causes a high fever lasting two to six days, followe ...

and rinderpest. The organisation that became the CENTO Institute of Nuclear Science was established by Western powers in the Baghdad Pact, as CENTO was then known. It was initially located in

, Iraq, but was relocated to Tehran, Iran in 1958 after Iraq withdrew from CENTO. Students from Pakistan and Turkey as well as those from Iran were trained at the Institute.

CENTO Scientific Council

The CENTO Scientific Council organized a number of scientific symposia and other events, including a meeting in Lahore, Pakistan, in 1962, entitled "The Role of Science in the Development of Natural Resources with Particular Reference to Pakistan, Iran and Turkey".Smith, ML. "The Role of Science in the Development of Natural Resources with Particular Reference to Pakistan, Iran and Turkey". Elsevier (2013). https://books.google.com/books?id=g-xsBQAAQBAJ&dq=CENTO+Institute+of+Nuclear+%26+Applied+Science+-centos&source=gbs_navlinks_s

References

External links

entry in Encyclopaedia Iranica *
CENTO
on the US State Department's website. {{Authority control Treaties concluded in 1955 Cold War alliances and military strategy Cold War treaties 1958 in the United States Former international organizations International military organizations 20th-century military alliances 1979 disestablishments Intergovernmental organizations established by treaty Organizations established in 1955 1955 in international relations Iraq–United Kingdom relations Treaties of the Kingdom of Iraq Military alliances involving the United Kingdom Military alliances involving Iraq Military alliances involving the United States Military alliances involving Iran Military alliances involving Pakistan Treaties of the Dominion of Pakistan Treaties of Pahlavi Iran Treaties of Turkey Treaties of the United Kingdom Articles containing video clips 1955 establishments in Iraq Anti-communism in Iraq