Britain, the Commonwealth and the Defence of the Middle East 1948-56

Abstract

Histories of the British post-war Labour government based upon official sources have now been available for some time, and it is generally recognized that the years 1945-51 saw a major adjustment of Britain's role in the world, with the advent of the Cold War and the independence of India. Recently, attention has turned to the succeeding Conservative governments of 1951-57, and it is possible to examine how policies were continued over the longer post-war era. The Middle East was one of the most important global regions for Britain after 1945, and both the Labour and Conservative governments believed it to be vital for Britain's post-war recovery and her continuing position as a world power. Even though Western Europe became Britain's first priority for defence after 1950, the Middle East remained a theatre of great importance and concern until well after Suez in 1956. In many respects, the Middle East replaced India as the basis for Britain's imperial overseas role, and all the arguments for 'protecting the routes' to India were used for the Middle East after 1947. A great deal has now been written about the Anglo-American relationship in the immediate post-war Middle East; indeed, attaining US support for the British position in the Middle East was the main goal of British policy between 1945 and 1948, and was achieved at the 'Pentagon Talks' in Washington in October 1947. However, the Imperial and Commonwealth sides to the issue have been little considered. The Middle East featured in British Commonwealth as well as 'Grand Alliance' strategy, especially after 1948. In that year, during which the British ingloriously withdrew from their mandate in Palestine, a new approach was made by Britain to her oldest and closest allies, the white Commonwealth countries, to contribute further to the defence of the Commonwealth as a whole. In the British official mind, this meant first and foremost the Middle East and its