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Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Two-Part Tribute Foreword
- Acknowledgements
- List of Abbreviations
- Introduction
- 1 Fighting the ‘Communist Menace’ Overseas
- 2 Security Training and Liaison in Anti-Communist Measures
- 3 The Defence of the Realm in the Middle East
- 4 Prerequisites of Intelligence Cooperation
- 5 Conflicting Interests in Anti-Communist Measures
- 6 The Use and Abuse of State Power and the Limits of British Influence
- Conclusion: The Twilight of the British Empire in the Middle East
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Appendix: Security Intelligence Middle East Charter
- Index
2 - Security Training and Liaison in Anti-Communist Measures
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Two-Part Tribute Foreword
- Acknowledgements
- List of Abbreviations
- Introduction
- 1 Fighting the ‘Communist Menace’ Overseas
- 2 Security Training and Liaison in Anti-Communist Measures
- 3 The Defence of the Realm in the Middle East
- 4 Prerequisites of Intelligence Cooperation
- 5 Conflicting Interests in Anti-Communist Measures
- 6 The Use and Abuse of State Power and the Limits of British Influence
- Conclusion: The Twilight of the British Empire in the Middle East
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Appendix: Security Intelligence Middle East Charter
- Index
Summary
People in the Arab world were intrigued by the Communists … The old political parties all over the Arab world were bankrupt of ideas and influences because the world was changing and they were not prepared for change. So there was a vacuum of power and the idea of Communism was potentially attractive … When the Communist Manifesto was smuggled into Egypt it caused a sensation. Intellectuals read it and thought that they had come upon a key which could open all the political and social doors.
Mohamed HeikalIt is in countries where social unrest and resentment may be exploited that Communism gains a hold. The Middle East, as long as it remains under the imperialist yoke, took the line of least resistance to Communism. In Egypt, at this time, we were witnessing the birth of a new fanaticism – Communism – and the revival of the old fanaticism of the Muslim Brotherhood. At first taking parallel courses, the two creeds finally converged and united.
Anwar El SadatIntroduction
Mohamed Heikal, an Egyptian journalist writing on the potential appeal of Communism, illustrates a common sentiment amongst Egyptians immediately after the Second World War. More importantly, these ideas could be found throughout the Middle East, where many dominant political parties enjoyed close ties with Britain and were increasingly being challenged by a public growing frustrated with their local politics. While the idea of Communism never became popular in the region, as a result of measures adopted by the strongly anti-Communist governments, frustrated nationalists adopted a revolutionary tendency often associated with International Communism and engaged in subversive activities to change the status quo. Sometimes anticolonialists did work with the Communists to achieve shared goals. Anwar El Sadat, as quoted above, has pointed out that the Muslim Brotherhood, an anti-British militant group, conducted subversive activities against the pro-British Egyptian government in tandem with Communists.
This chapter reveals firstly, how the British government came to conclude that training Middle Eastern security services in anti-Communist measures was necessary, and secondly, the way in which these measures were implemented in Lebanon, Iran, Iraq and Jordan.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The Twilight of the British EmpireBritish Intelligence and Counter-Subversion in the Middle East, 1948–63, pp. 31 - 61Publisher: Edinburgh University PressPrint publication year: 2017