Summary
The text of Winston's Folly actually undermines the thesis of its title. By the author's own account, if the creation of Iraq was anybody's folly, it was more that of the prime minister, David Lloyd George, than of Churchill. Churchill hated the costly and bloody entanglement in Iraq, and actively considered withdrawing British troops to Basra. He believed that Lloyd George's anti-Turkish policy was endangering Britain's position in the Islamic world, potentially stirring trouble among Muslims in the Raj.
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What a Carve-Up
Winston's Folly: imperialism and the creation of modern Iraq
Christopher Catherwood Constable, 267pp, L12.99 There is something outwardly appealing about the title of this book, with its suggestion that the US occupation of Iraq is an imperial misadve...See the full content of this document
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