The Unknown Wars: Oman and Dhofar

Abstract

The two wars fought on behalf of the Sultans of Oman, Said bin Taimur and his son, Qaboos, were both small affairs that involved only small numbers of British military personnel. Nevertheless, they were both important, first of all for maintaining a British presence and British influence in the Middle East and, secondly, for the part they played in the fortunes of the Special Air Service (SAS). The Jebel Akhdar campaign of 1958–59 arguably saved the SAS from disbandment once the Malayan Emergency came to an end, while the later, more protracted war in Dhofar has been generally regarded as a triumphant success for British counterinsurgency methods comparable with the success in Malaya. Moreover, the success in Dhofar indicated that British counterinsurgency specialists had a post-colonial future as, in effect, mercenaries hired out by the British government to friendly foreign governments to advise and assist in the suppression of unrest and rebellion.