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 or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, 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 l ...

and intelligence about the Arab regions of the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

.Westrate, p.xii According to a Committee of Imperial Defence paper from 7 January 1916, the Arab Bureau was established to "harmonise British political activity in the

Near East The Near East () is a transcontinental region around the Eastern Mediterranean encompassing the historical Fertile Crescent, the Levant, Anatolia, Egypt, Mesopotamia, and coastal areas of the Arabian Peninsula. The term was invented in the 20th ...

... 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 * United ...

, the

India Office The India Office was a British government department in London established in 1858 to oversee the administration of the Provinces of India, through the British viceroy and other officials. The administered territories comprised most of the mo ...

, the Committee of Defence, the

War Office The War Office has referred to several British government organisations throughout history, all relating to the army. It was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, at ...

, the Admiralty, and

Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

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 ...

who, in December 1915, reported to

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

that, in a recent tour of the

from

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, 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 by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, 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. 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. It can be described as t ...

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 Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

among non-Indian Moslems."

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 ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

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) 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 a Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of ...

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

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf, sometimes called the Arabian Gulf, is a Mediterranean seas, mediterranean sea in West Asia. The body of water is an extension of the Arabian Sea and the larger Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.Un ...

and particularly the

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

provinces that they planned to occupy and cultivate for

grain A grain is a small, hard, dry fruit (caryopsis) – with or without an attached husk, 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 ...

production for India. Newly discovered oil deposits 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 Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs may refer to: * Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (Spain) *Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (UK) The secretary of state for foreign, commonwealth and development affairs, also known as the fore ...

( 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) dur ...

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

Gertrude Bell Gertrude Margaret Lowthian Bell (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 highly inf ...

, Aubrey Herbert, 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 Arabi ...

and Tracy Philipps 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'', David Fromkin, 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