Page 274 - Life of Gertrude Bell

248 GERTRUDE BELL
the Cabinet in London that British policy was designed to ‘diddle’
France out of Syria, the French demonstrated that they were no
strangers to political perfidy. Nuri as-Said had gone to Damascus
for talks with the French governor General Weygand. Ali was in
Amman, also talking to the French and to agents of Mustafa
Kamal. While these intrigues were taking place, Dobbs was tour­
ing the Iraq countryside with a leading moderate politician,
Taufiq al Khalid, who had been Minister of Agriculture in the
Naqib’s provisional government. He was the uncle of Husain’s
representative in London, Dr Naji al Asil, ‘deep in the secrets of
those who are buzzing around Amman’ according to an intelli­
gence report. When Taufiq returned from his tour with the High
Commissioner, he was asked by Faisal what he had talked about.
‘Agriculture,’ he replied. Faisal did not believe him. A few days
later the Iraqi went to see the British chief of the C.I.D. in
Baghdad, shaking with fear and convinced that his life was in
danger. On February 23 rd he was shot in the back outside his
house. Dobbs wrote a personal letter to the Secretary of State.
‘There is little likelihood that the murderer will be traced,’ he
said. ‘I am sorry to say that many of those with inner knowledge
of Baghdad affairs strongly suspect that the murder was done by
order of King Faisal, and with the cognizance of Nuri Pasha the
I Minister of Defence.’
Most of the politicians of the new regime were the old-guard
pashas experienced in the perfidious ways of their Turkish ex­
masters. They needed little instruction in their craft. But there
were good men among them and, considering the frailty of the
structure on which they rested, many enjoyed lengthy periods of
office. Jafar Pasha was assassinated in the military coup of 1936;
Abdul Mehsin Beg al Sadun, son of Ajaimi the Muntafiq leader,
committed suicide. Others, including the most powerful person­
ality of them all, Nuri Said, who had fought on both sides in
the war and was doubly respected, were murdered in the revolu­
tion of 1958, along with surviving members of Faisal’s family
then in Iraq.
Perhaps if Gertrude had been able to foresee the end to it all,
she would have had second thoughts about the regime to which
she was so attached and whose ambitions she supported so loyally.
But hindsight is the prerogative of the observers of life, not of the
players. Lawrence said of her: ‘... she was not a good judge of
men or situations: and was always the slave of some momentary