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states was approached, abandoning the previous idea of MEDO with Egypt at its

centre. The Northern Tier meant that the reliance on other states, such as Turkey,

Pakistan and (later) Iraq needed to become the cornerstones of a defensive bulwark

for the region. 217

When Nuri Al-Saeed returned to the post of Prime Minister in Iraq in August

1954 he set about his mission to have Iraq become part of the grand Western

alliances directed against the ‘Soviet menace’. 218 Nuri’s initiative provided a scheme

that not only acted as a defensive methodology against the Soviets but offered to act

as a bridge between the alliances in East Asia and Europe, SEATO and NATO. 219 Nuri

envisioned Iraq becoming part of that alliance network even before being offered

the Premiership for the seventh time in Iraq as he had discussed the matter with

Lloyd and Sir Evelyn Shuckburgh as early as July 1954. 220 His vision was

encouraged in part by the Turco-Pakistani alliance that stimulated him to get in

contact with the Turks on the possibility of expanding the alliance. 221 Not only did

the pacts act as a defensive deterrent against Soviet-Communist expansion, they

217 BDEEP, Series B, Part III, vol. 4, ‘Egypt and the Defence of the Middle East’ 1953-1956. Doc. 506:
FO 371/110787, [Turko-Pakistani pact]: letter from Sir J Bowker (Ankara) to R Allen on the proposed
pact’s importance for future British defence arrangements in the Middle East, 26 March 1954; and
BDEEP, Series B, Part III, vol. 4, ‘Egypt and the Defence of the Middle East’ 1953-1956. Doc. 548: FO
371/111003, ‘Anglo-Iraqi defence questions’: memorandum by P S Falla on the advantages and
disadvantages of a northern tier defence arrangement, 25 September 1954.
218 Dann, King Hussein and the Challenge of Arab Radicalism, 21.
219 M.H. Heikal, Sphinx and Commissar: The Rise and Fall of Soviet Influence in the Arab World
(London: 1978), 56.
220 J. Charmley (ed.), Descent to Suez: Diaries 1951-1956: Evelyn Shuckburgh (London: 1986) entry
from 15 July 1954, 224, hereafter Descent to Suez.
221 Gallman, Iraq Under General Nuri, 27.

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