Page 365 - UAE Truncal States
P. 365

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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