Iraq–United Kingdom relations

British-Iraqi relations are foreign relations between Iraq and the United Kingdom. Sanctions against Iraq prevented any form of economic relations with the United Kingdom and any other country for thirteen years.

History

The history of British-Iraqi relations date back to the creation of Iraq in 1920, when it was founded by Great Britain; by establishing separate provinces from Mosul to Basra.cite web |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/recent/iraq/britain_iraq_01.shtml |title=History: British Relations with Iraq |accessdate=2008-03-04 |publisher=bbc.co.uk] In the 19th century Europeans (mostly the British) began to take an interest in exploring, surveying, spying and trading in Mesopotamia, as well as in navigating its rivers. By 1914 there was growing anxiety about the security of the Persian oilfields on the other side of the Gulf, these were the fields that supplied the Royal Navy.

World War I

The Ottoman Empire, which included the provinces of Baghdad, Basra and Mosul, entered World War I on the side of the Central Powers (Germany and Austria-Hungary), and immediately became a target for British imperial ambitions. Soon after substantial Anglo-Indian army was raised, which landed in Basra in November 1914. The local defending forces soon fled, and the British decided to push on towards Baghdad. However the Turkish Ottoman forces proved more resilient than expected and the Anglo-Indian force surrendered in April 1916. New British forces eventually arrived in Basra in greater numbers, and by March 1917 were able to capture Baghdad.

The foundation of Iraq

By the end of World War One, British forces were in control of the three provinces (Baghdad, Basra and Mosul), and the British administration in Baghdad had to decide on their future. The Ottoman Empire had collapsed, leaving the former Arab provinces in limbo, and the colonial powers of Britain and France aimed to absorb them into their empires; however, the Arab and other inhabitants felt strongly that they had been promised independence.Iraq then became a British mandate, carved out of the three former Ottoman provinces. There was immediate resentment amongst Iraq's inhabitants at what they saw as a charade, and in 1920 a strong revolt spread through the country, the situation was so bad that the British commander, General Sir Aylmer Haldane, at one time called for supplies of poisonous gas.The mandate united the three disparate provinces under the imported Hashimite King Faisal. Apart from its natural geographical differences, Iraq was a complex mix of ethnic and religious groups. In particular the rebellious Kurds in the north had little wish to be ruled from Baghdad, while in the south the tribesmen and Shia's had a similar abhorrence of central control. In implementing their mandate, the British had certainly sown the seeds of future unrest. There were other contentious issues. The Iraqis deeply resented the borders imposed on them that cut them off from Kuwait, a mini-state that they believed to be a part of their country. These borders also meant that Iraq had only limited access to the waters of the Gulf. The British imposed a monarchy and a form of democracy but, even after the grant of formal independence in 1930, most Iraqis believed that the British really ruled the country.

Iraq remained a satellite of Britain for the next three decades, under the terms of a treaty signed in 1930, which included the retention of British military bases and an agreement to train the Iraqi army. Ironically, this army became a breeding ground of resentment against the British presence, particularly amongst new nationalist officers. After the death of King Faisal in 1933 the country was virtually ruled by a group of colonels who saw themselves as the future liberators of an oppressed Iraq.During World War Two the British were once again dragged into Iraq, to protect the oil fields in the north and to put down a pro-Nazi coup amongst the army officers. Some 3,000 Iraqi troops were killed, and 3,000 nationalist officers were purged. The British remained to support the monarchy, and a pro-British prime minister, Nuri al-Said, was in place until, in 1958, monarch and politicians were swept away in a vicious nationalist army revolt.

In 1955, the United Kingdom was part of the Baghdad Pact.

In 1961, after Kuwait had gained independence from Britain, the Iraqi leader, General Kassem, claimed it as an integral part of Iraq and concentrated his troops on the frontier, with the intention of taking it by force. Britain was ready and dispatched troops stationed in the Gulf region to dissuade the Iraqis from armed conflict. The crisis was settled temporarily by a coup in Baghdad that overthrew Kassem, with the help of the United States. In 1979, Saddam Hussein, seized power in Iraq in the name of the Arab nationalist Ba'ath Party, a secular organisation devoted to achieving the unity of all Arabs. In September 1980 when Iraqi troops crossed into Iran, by the orders of Saddam; Britain was one of the nations that armed Iraq.

Present day

Iraq war 2003

Britain once again found itself in Iraq after an invasion in 2003, primarily led by the US. British forces were mainly based in the southern city of Basra, but after handing over Basra to Iraqi forces in 2007, both Iraq and Britain stress the need to develop economic relations between the two countries. This was confirmed by the British Foreign Minister, David Miliband, during his current visit to Iraq on the occasion of his country's troops handing over the reins of security in Basrah to the Iraqi forces, and said:

"By spring 2008 our military presence in Basrah will be 2500 troops. We would like now to focus on new prospects of cooperation in the economic, political and military areas; our forces have been able to build close ties with their Iraqi counterparts under the leadership of lieutenant general Mouhan."cite web |url=http://www.iraqupdates.com/p_articles.php/article/25578 |title=British-Iraqi agreement on developing economic relations |accessdate=2008-03-04 |publisher=iraqupdates.com]

A statement issued by the Presidency of the Cabinet quoted Al-Maliki stressing his government's keenness to establish better relations with Britain and open horizons of joint cooperation in all fields, saying that the coming phase will witness the establishment of multiple projects for the reconstruction of Basrah and all other provinces, calling on the British government to contribute actively in these projects and help to support the development of the Iraqi economy.

See also

* British Mandate of Iraq
* Anglo-Iraqi Treaty
* Iraqi Britons, British people of Iraqi descent
* Foreign relations of Iraq
* Foreign relations of the United Kingdom
* List of Ambassadors from the United Kingdom to Iraq
* British support for Iraq during the Iran-Iraq war

References

External links

* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/recent/iraq/britain_iraq_01.shtml History: British Relations with Iraq: BBC]