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least offered the prospect of the emergence of an effective government and the orderly withdrawal of our forces. In these circumstances there was general agreement in the Committee with the action proposed by the
Foreign Secretary.
In further discussion the question was raised of the commitments which had been made to the Federal Supreme Council of South Arabia in
respect of the maintenance of British naval and air forces after independence for a limited period in order to assist them in repelling any aggression and in respect of the continuation of aid on a substantial scale to the Federal Government and to the states of the Eastern Aden Protectorate (EAP) for the payment of Hadhrami Bedouin Legion (HBL). It was the general view that recent developments made it almost certain that our commitment to the maintenance of forces for repelling aggression
after independence would no longer be welcome to the new government of
South Arabia. It also seemed probable that they would pay not
POLITICALL be in a position to accept aid from us and consequently that we should be relieved of our commitments; but it would be necessary to keep this
aspect under close review and to reconsider our commitment in the light
of developments and in particular of the extent to which any agreement on aid with a new government in South Arabia proved to be necessary for
the safe withdrawal of our forces. In this connection the Committee
were informed that the proposal to discuss with nationalist forces in
South Arabia the formation of an effective government had been conveyed
to King Faisal of Saudi Arabia the previous day. He had clearly found
the news unwelcome but it was to be hoped that once it became clear that
the new government would not be under Egyptian influence he might become
reconciled to the position. The Minister without Portfolio
(Lord Shackleton), who was leaving that morning for discussions in Beirut
with the United Nations Mission on South Arabia would thereafter visit
Saudi Arabia for further discussions with the King.
The Committee
Approved OPD(67) 66 and the statement attached thereto, subject
to the amendments proposed by the Foreign Secretary.
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