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TRAQ.

The Akhwan Raids.

(Previous

Reference: Cabinet 33 (28), Con-

clusion 4.)

7. The Cabinet had before them the Report.

•

signed by the Prime Minister, of a Sub-Committee

of the Committee of Imperial Defence on the Akhwan Situation (Paper C.P.-217 (28)). After conferring

with Sir Gilbert Clayton and Air Vice-Marshal Sir Edward Ellington, Air Officer Commanding in Iraq, the Sub-Committee presented the following recommendations:

(a) Whatever form of organisation is

adopted for the defence and sdmin- istration of the desert tribes of Iraq, the maintenance of a certain number of desert Posts is essential, not only for purposes of defence, but also in order to restrain the tribes on the Iraq side of the border. Accordingly we should make no concession of principle on this question.

(b) It should be impressed on Ibn Saud

that we regard the right of Iraq to administer its own territory, and to construct posts within it, as essentially a British interest.

+

(c) On matters of detail, such, for

example, as the number of Posts, their distance from the frontier, ete

we should take as conciliatory a line as possible, in so far as this can be done consistently with insist- ence on the general principle in (b) above. As regards the number of Posts, these should be limited in the first instanee to the following: Rutbah, Muhaiwir, Ain Wiza, Shabicha, Salman, Busaiyan.

(The first three of the above are required in connection with the Air Route and Pipeline and are beyond the range of controversy.)

(d) We should give Ibn Saud en assurance

that we intend to observe Article 6 of the Bahra Agreement and that our forces will not cross the common frontier in pursuit of offenders. It should, however, be pointed out to him that in the case of an organised attack on a township or post as opposed to a mere tribal raid or in the event of a series of raids, with which he proves himself unable or unwilling to deal, we rust reserve to ourselves the right to take such action as we think fit.

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