Secret Anglo-French War in the Middle East

<p>The role of intelligence in colonialism and decolonization is a rapidly expanding field of study. The premise of <i>The Secret Anglo-French War in the Middle East </i>is that intelligence statecraft is the missing dimension in the established historiography of the Middle East during and after World War II.</p><p>Arguing that intelligence especially covert political action and clandestine diplomacy played a key role in Britain's Middle East policy this book examines new archival sources in order to demonstrate that despite World War II and the Cold War the traditional rivalry between Britain and France in the Middle East continued unabated assuming the form of a little-known secret war. This shadow war strongly influenced decolonization of the region as each Power sought to undermine the other; Britain exploited France's defeat to evict it from its mandated territories in Syria and Lebanon and incorporate them in its own sphere of influence; whilst France’s successful use of intelligence enabled it to undermine Britain's position in Palestine Egypt Saudi Arabia and Iraq.</p><p>Shedding new light on the clandestine Franco-Zionist collaboration against Britain in the Middle East and the role of the British secret services in the 1948 Arab-Jewish war in Palestine this book which presents close to 400 secret Syrian and British documents obtained by the French intelligence is essential reading for scholars with an interest in the political history of the region inter-Arab and international relations and intelligence studies. </p>