War by Revolution. Germany and Great Britain in the Middle East in the Era of World War I

TOWARDANALLIEDVICTORY 205

BritainandtheArabs:TheSharif,Ex-Khedive,and"Maurice"
TheBritishbelievedincreasinglythattheTurksandGermanspur-
suedawell-coordinatedpolicytowardtheArabsandthesharif,one
thatmeanttoenticehimintoconcludingpeacewithTurkeyand
endinghisalliancewithBritain.Thisview,whichhaddominated
Britishthinkingduringmuchofthewar, resultedfromfaultyre-
portsbyintelligenceagentsandperhapsfromthesharifhimself.
Husayn,askillfulpolitician,haddoubtsaboutBritishpostwar
intentionsinArablandsandthussoughtto keepopenhisoptions
bysecretlypreservinghislinesofcommunicationtotheenemy.At
thebeginningofJanuarytheArabBureauinCairocirculatedinfor-
mationthatOppenheimwas"inMedina...attemptingtomake
termsfortheTurkswiththeSherif."Two weekslaterHusayncon-
tributedtotherumorbytellingtheBritishhehad"heardfromreli-
ablesourcesthat 22 GermansarenowinMedina.Oppenheimis al-
mostcertainlythere.'?'
DuringtheensuingweekstheIndiaOffice,theForeignOffice,and
theArabBureauemphasizedBritain'sinterestsinArabiaandthevalue
ofthesharifinassistingBritain'sfuturecontroloftheMiddleEast."
AttheendofMarchColonelC.E.Wilson,theBritishrepresentative
inJidda,askedtheArabBureauto increaseBritain'ssubsidiesto
Husaynfrom£125,000 to£200,000permonth."As is wellknown,"
saidWilson,"theGermansandTurkshavespenthugesumsinthe
HedjazandneighbouringcountryonbribestoSheikhsandTribes.
TheSherifinformsmethathehascertainevidencethat£Tr,ooo,ooo
wassentinall toMedinaaboutsixmonthsago forthepurposeof
bribes.?"Above all, heemphasizedtoCairo,thesharif'salliancewith
BritainandrevolthadlessenedthethreattoBritishinterestsofpan-
Islamism.>
DuringAprilreportsfloodedtheArabBureauandotherBritish
intelligenceofficesthattheTurksandGermanshadoffered"aspiri-
tualcaliphate"toHusaynifthelatterhaltedhisrevolt."Thisinfor-
mation,coupledwithanunsuccessfulattemptbyBritishforcesto
takethePalestiniantownofGaza,damagedmoraleinCairo.Inaddi-
tion,theArabworldreceivedthefallofBaghdadtotheMesopotamia
ExpeditionaryForce(MEF)withmixedfeelings.Simultaneously,the