Page 365 - UAE Truncal States

Chapter Nine

It is therefore not surprising that many of the political leaders in
the Gulf area nourished hopes of the restoration of the status quo
ante in the event of a Conservative election victory. This frame of
mind of at least some of the people did not encourage those
attempting to finalise the establishment of the federation of Gulf
emirates. Following the surprise victory of the Conservatives in the
election of 18 June 1970, the new Government was pressed for a
decision on their policy regarding the Gulf.
Although it soon became obvious that the decision to withdraw
could not and would not be reversed by the Conservative Govern­
ment, it took another nine months for the formal announcement to be
made. On 1 March 1971 the British Foreign Secretary, Sir Alec
Douglas-Home, told the House of Commons that Britain had offered
the Arab Emirates of the Gulf a treaty of friendship to replace the
existing defence treaties, which were scheduled to be terminated by
31 December 1971. During all this time the Conservatives were
sounding out the practical implications of their own bias towards
keeping a presence east of Suez and in particular in the Gulf. Sir
William Luce, who had been Political Resident in the Gulf from 1961
to 1966, was brought out of retirement to be the Foreign Secretary’s
special adviser. At the same time it was announced that Sir Geoffrey
Arthur, Britain’s Ambassador in Kuwait at the time of the 1968
announcement, was appointed successor to Sir Stewart Crawford as
Political Resident in Bahrain. Earlier Sir William Luce had advocated
that Britain should proceed to withdraw from the Gulf. He spent five
weeks in August and September 1970 in discussion with leaders of
all the countries bordering the Gulf and also of other Arab countries.
During his visits to Iran he ascertained that the British withdrawal
was already treated as a fait accompli and that Iran was aiming at
becoming the major military and political power in the area.10
Although the Iranian attitude may have been reassuring for some in
Whitehall. Iran’s intransigence over its claim to the islands of Abu
Musa and the Tunbs cast a shadow over the federation negotiations.
Sir William Luce returned twice to the area, in October 1970 and
again in January/February 1971, before his recommendations to the
Foreign Secretary were finalised and the latter announced the
Government’s long awaited decision on 1 March 1971. Since the
deadline for Britain’s withdrawal remained the same, 31 December
1971, time was fast running out for finalising the structure of the
Union of Arab Emirates.
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