The Secret Anglo-French War in the Middle East: Intelligence and Decolonization, 1940-1948

by Meir Zamir

The role of intelligence in colonialism and decolonization is a rapidly expanding field of study. The premise of The Secret Anglo-French War in the Middle East is that intelligence statecraft is the "missing dimension" in the established historiography of the Middle East during and after World War II. 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. 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.

502 pages, Hardcover

First published October 13, 2014

Reviews

[Ted · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good read, if a bit choppy. The book is heavily based upon research into archives of British secret correspondence and intelligence documents (396 of which - or their translations - are included in the book) obtained by French intelligence in Syria, although there was certainly a great deal of other research involved.

The "Middle East" referred to in the title turns out to be almost entirely about the Levant, with a much heavier emphasis on the British intelligence services than the French. This emphasis is focused on the the actions of Brit intelligence personnel and how they effectively ignored policy directives from home and carried out their own policy in theater, driven by their own personal beliefs and biases.

The book is an interesting story of the role of intelligence during a critical period in the history of the region, but it appears the author weaves much of the narrative straight from the pages of raw reporting in the archives, and doesn't discern between analysis, opinion, speculation, and straight reporting of fact in the documents. This blurs the tale a bit, and undermines what could have been a very good book indeed.

I also feel the book could benefit from an introductory chapter that briefly reviewed the commonly accepted regional history of the period in focus, thus setting the stage for the details of the intrigues below the surface which would follow in the rest of the volume. The book is also completely lacking in photos or illustrations. A photo section of the key players, along with a network chart of influence, as recounted in the book, would be extremely useful reference for the reader. All in all, still a good read, but one that could have been much better.

[Jack Carver · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read after seeing it mentioned in a Haaretz article about the topic; extremely in depth and faithful breakdown of the secret cables printed in the second half of the book. However if you’re coming to this specifically looking for information on Britain’s role in the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, you’ll find a highly informative but short section in the epilogue. The rest of the book is just as interesting but I was looking forward to more information on that subject in particular.

[Mano Chil · Rating 3 out of 5]

A mind opening book. Such a book clearly states that there is no such thing as pure independent states.