In the eye of the storm: Ambassador James Richards' mission to Iraq in April 1957

Abstract

This article discusses the visit of James Richards, President Eisenhower's special emissary to the Middle East, to Iraq in April 1957 following the pronouncement of the Eisenhower Doctrine. An analysis of the Richards Mission encompasses a range of specific issues, including the relationship in Iraq between the US and UK and American assessments of the stability of the Iraqi government. Moreover, this article examines the American strategy for navigating the rising tide of Arab nationalist sentiment in Iraq after the Suez War. This article explores the ways in which US policy-makers privileged the notions of ‘stability’ and ‘order’ in Iraqi political affairs and reflects on the critical dilemmas and contradictions underlying American policy towards Iraq and the Middle East after the 1956 Suez War.

Notes

¹ For instance, the Americans and the British disagreed over the extent to which the West could cooperate with Nasser's Egypt and over the American attempt to promote King Saud of Saudi Arabia as a rival to Nasser in the Middle East (see Ashton 1993, 60–61).

² Congressional approval was only achieved after a prolonged partisan battle between Democrats who opposed Eisenhower's ‘appeasement’ of Nasser, and Republicans who expressed outrage at the collusion of the British, French and Israelis during the Suez War (see Executive Sessions of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee 1956, 605–655; Yaqub 2004, 90–97).

³ For example, see Armstrong (1957) and Executive Sessions of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee (1956).

⁴ Dr Muhammad Fadhil al-Jamali led Iraq as Prime Minister until late April 1954, at which point Arshad al-Umari took over as Prime Minister. Nuri al-Said returned to the role of Prime Minister in August 1954.

⁵ British officials often came to the same conclusion. See Louis (1984, 315).

⁶ In June, a new government headed by Ali Jaudat al-Ayyubi was formed and Nuri temporarily moved to the sidelines of Iraqi politics until March 1958.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Brandon King

Brandon King is a PhD candidate in the Department of History at the University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. E-mail: [email protected]