1940: Iraq

During the year 1940, Iraq, an Arab kingdom, allied to Great Britain, faithful to this alliance, supported Great Britain's position in the Near and Middle East, without, however, joining actively in the war. The small Iraq army, which is of importance because it guards the rich oil fields of Mosul in Northern Iraq and the pipe lines from there to the Mediterranean ports, has been modernized and has acquired among others fifteen new American-built Douglas bombers. Iraq is of special importance in the present war not only on account of its oil wells, but also because it lies across the route to the Persian Gulf and to India. The political situation of Iraq has been favorably influenced by the strong stand which the Turks have taken on the side of Great Britain and by their promise to resist any attempt on the part of the Fascist powers to expand into the Near and Middle East; it has been weakened, on the other hand, by the defection of the French, whereby Syria became a possible outpost of Fascist influence and penetration in the Near East.

But the Iraqis, who regard the Syrians as their Arab compatriots and who hope for a union of the Arab lands, especially of Iraq and Syria, in the near future, showed themselves determined to defend Syria if need be against Fascist penetration. After the defeat of France the British cut off the flow of Mosul oil to the Mediterranean port of Tripolis, which is situated in the French mandated territory of Syria, so that now all the Mosul oil is being piped exclusively to Haifa, a port in British-controlled Palestine. The Foreign Minister of Iraq, General Nouri es Said Pasha, declared on July 5, after a conference with Turkish authorities in Ankara, that Turkey and Iraq both believed that Syria should enjoy complete independence. (See also SYRIA.)

The internal development of Iraq continued unimpeded. Town planning, which has fast changed the face of Baghdad during the last year and has made her a modern and attractive city, as well as large development works for the protection of the country from inundation and for the storage of water required during the summer months, made fast progress. According to the treaty of alliance with Great Britain, the kingdom of Iraq is bound to furnish to Great Britain all possible facilities and assistance in Iraq territory, and Iraq has therefore taken the necessary measures; these, however, weigh only lightly on the population. The economic situation has been generally improved since the large garrisons in the Near East and the war needs elsewhere created a demand for Iraq agrarian products of export. As the king of the country is only three years old, the government is in the hands of a regent, the boy king's uncle, Abdul-Ilah.

Berlin-to-Baghdad Railroad.

An important achievement of the year 1940 was the final completion of the once famous Berlin-to-Baghdad Railroad. At the beginning of the year there was still a link missing in the standard gauge track which connects Istanbul through Anatolia and Mosul with Baghdad and from there by a narrow gauge line to Basra on the Persian Gulf. This remaining link between Mosul and Baiji has now been completed, so that, once peace is established, rolling stock will be able to cross from the English Channel to the Persian Gulf without change, being ferried across the Straits at Istanbul. The completion of the Baghdad railroad in Iraq will also facilitate a closer cooperation between Turkey and Iraq and the sending of heavy war materials to Iraq. It will also be possible to ship quickly oil pipe line equipment to the Iraqi oil fields. The strategic value of this direct overland rout to India is today as great as it was when the Germans planned it before the first World War.