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Nasser. 607 The British Foreign Secretary during a meeting of the Cabinet, expressed

his belief that ‘Nasser was unwilling to work with the Western Powers or to co-

operate in the task of securing peace in the Middle East’. Hitherto it had been

imperative for British policy to continue supporting the Baghdad Pact and to

convince the US to join. Lloyd further underlined that Britain’s presence in the

Arabian Gulf must be sustained. 608

A COS Committee memorandum on 23 March confirmed that the situation in

Bahrain had settled and sought the Minister of Denfense’s approval to return a

company of armed men to their previous location in Sharjah. 609 Fulfilling his part of

the deal between the Administration and the NUC, Al-Bakir left Bahrain for Lebanon

on 23 March for a six-month set period. But ignoring the British diktat he travelled

on to Cairo. 610 He was received by the WIYC’s Kamal Yaqub on 27 March. He later

claimed to have stayed in Cairo for some five months but without providing much

detail to his activities there. In his absence Al-Shamlan took his place with the title

of Acting Secretary, given to him by Al Bakir on 21 March. 611

An account by the Residency, based mostly on evidence produced by Gault on

the NUC and developments in Bahrain, was sent to Lloyd on 26 March. One of the

features of the account alluded to the existence of experienced elements from

Bahrain’s society with good education and knowledge of the outside world who had

failed to exert their influence on the Adviser, or on the political scene by restraining

607 Eden to Eisenhower, 19 March 1956, (also found in Boyle, 125).
608 BDEEP, Series B, Part III, vol. 4, ‘Egypt and the Defence of the Middle East’ 1953-1956. Doc. 635:
CAB 128 30/1, CM 24(56)5, ‘Middle East’: Cabinet conclusions on countering Egyptian policy. 21
March 1956.
609 TNA, DEFE 4/85/35, C.O.S. (56)35 Meeting, 23 March 1956.
th
610 ‘Bernard Burrows, Residency’s Report for the Month of April 1956’, 1-10 (4).
611 Al-Bakir, From Bahrain to Exile, 113 and 116-17.

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