Chapter XI: Peace or not, the Tiger prepares. (Part II)
“People do not want words – they want the sound of battle – the battle of destiny.” – Gamal Abdel Nasser.
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Oval Office, White House, Washington D.C, United States of America. ~ March 16th, 1958.
“Mr. President, we have reasons to believe Nasser was involved in the coup that took place a week ago at Iraq,” that was Allen Dulles, director of the CIA. He had been present at the Oval Office almost daily ever since the Iraqi coup happened, the sudden move launched by the Royal Iraqi Army took everyone by surprise, especially the British and the Americans who had thought Iraq was stable and capable of resisting the influences of Pan-Arabism spouted by Cairo ever since the revolution.
It all started with the establishment of the United Arab Republic, merging together both Egypt and Syria into a new country and strengthening the voices of Pan-Arabism in the mere course of weeks, the unification of both countries had reinforced the ideals of a United Arab Nation into the minds of plenty of Arab nationalists in the region; from Iraq to Morocco, disregarding their geographical position, plenty of Arab nationalists soon fell reinvigorated and hopeful about the future, though in reality the new United Arab Republic seemed uncapable of expanding beyond Egypt and Syria.
“At least the position of King Hussein is better at Jordan, reports indicate that the Arab nationalist uprising that took place at the country was quickly put under control by the king and loyalist Bedouin units from the Royal Army,” that was the voice of John Foster Dulles, brother of the CIA director and the secretary of state. “It seems there’s a power struggle at Baghdad at least, the officers that launched the coup seem to disagree on the course the country should follow. We could get involved in this, possibly.”
Richard Nixon had been silent so far, listening to the developments that had suddenly shaken the entire stability of the Middle East and spiked fear at London and Washington. The whole Middle East was in danger of falling into the hands of Nasser, the Soviet man at the region; at least that was the most common opinion if you asked any American politician. Lebanon was far from stable as well, plenty of unrest and protests had been taking place almost on a weekly basis against President Camille Chamoun, whose government was besieged by Arab nationalists and Maronite Christians, both groups have different interests in mind and the former being supported by the United Arab Republic and now Iraq as well.
“Using the Baghdad Pact? Seems unlikely, both Iran and Turkey are already undergoing instability of their own, the British are still dealing with the consequences of their last regional blunder and Pakistan is more interested in their rivalry with India than anything else,” Nixon finally spoke. “At the moment I don’t think we have any available option to act against the new regime at Baghdad, however, there’s still a place we can draw a line at, stop Nasser once and for all.”
“Lebanon,” President Eisenhower interjected into the conversation. “It seems the situation at Jordan is stabilizing once more, but Lebanon is still under fire by the Arabs, if Lebanon falls the situation for Israel will be untenable, war will be more than likely to take place and Moscow’s influence will span the entire Middle East: this can’t happen.”
“Speaking about drawing lines, I think we should once and for all tighten the leash on the British,” that was Nixon once more. “John and I agree on making it clear to London that Sudan must receive independence if tensions with Nasser are to be cooled down.”
After Nasser nationalized the Suez Canal, the United Kingdom had refused to honor the agreement made in 1953 that stated Sudan would be independent by 1956. The British refusal to honor this agreement pushed Egypt into renewing the suzerainty claims on Sudan that they had dropped, effectively meaning that the United Arab Republic also laid claims on the lands to the south. The spread of Pan-Arabism had also influenced in some degree the Sudanese population, having been denied independence plenty of nationalist political leaders soon turned towards Cairo for inspiration and support. Therefore, Britain’s actions soon backfired as the Sudanese slowly started supporting the ideals of Pan-Arabism while Nasser’s position in the region strengthened even more.
“London won’t be happy to learn this, but we have been too patient with them already,” Eisenhower added. President Eisenhower knew both France and the United Kingdom were important allies, but their imperialist and colonialist ambitions wouldn’t not receive American support and if their stances caused problems to American foreign policy, then they should also be treated as issues to be solved immediately. He decided to be soft with France after the establishment of the Second French Consulate since advisors were worried about the political situation within the country, despite knowing that Massu’s claims of a communist conspiracy were most likely fake, he was not willing to risk such an important member of NATO.
(Taking advantage of Washington's reluctance to condemn the new regime, Jacques Massu renewed the Algerian War)
American leniency on post-coup France was enough to allow them to renew their offensives against the Algerian Liberation Front on early February of 1958, dismissing the informal ceasefire that had taken place after de Gaulle’s assassination and the establishment of Jacques Massu as the Premier Consul of France. A month later, with the French having reestablished control over Algeria and dispersing if not eliminating most of the top leadership of the Algerian Liberation Front, Washington stayed silent once more, unwilling to criticize the government at Paris which still seemed to be fragile. One of the most important reasons behind Eisenhower’s reluctance to pressure Massu was the reports submitted by Allen Dulles, apparently the Service de Documentation Extérieure et de Contre-Espionnage was under an active investigation by the Parisian authorities, believed to be infiltrated by Communists, this showed how risky moving against the triumvirate could be.
Ironically, Jacques Massu had already purged plenty of Communists, Socialists, or leftists in general from numerous government institutions and departments. The reports the CIA had gathered were mostly fabricated (by the French) to inspire distrust and fears of a possible Communist insurrection or countercoup in France, thus strengthening Washington’s willingness to tolerate the positions and actions of the new French government. At the same time, Jacques Massu hoped this would help cover the questionable links the government had established with the recently founded Paladin Group, which included infamous figures such as Otto Skorzeny.
However, before details could be hammered out about how America would react regarding the current affairs of the Middle East, a man rushed into the Oval Office waving a paper and with a worried expression on his face.
“Jordan has fallen to Arab nationalists!”
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Nasser against imperialism. – Kateryna Ivanenko.
Iraqi soldiers were as tired as the general population of the monarchy, practically every armed unit joined the revolution of 1958.
The results of the Suez Crisis had increased Nasser’s popular support through the entire region in such a dramatic fashion, after all, he stroke against Western interests and ended up unscathed by his actions; it truly was a huge victory for the Arab cause and the Arab world. Despite the tensions with Israel, these were quickly solved under the table to keep some of the American goodwill, Nasser knew that he couldn’t risk angering the Americans as well, it could and would be easier to deal with the imperialists one by one, starting off with the United Kingdom.
By 1958 the relations between Egypt and the United Kingdom had heavily deteriorated, only American, and Soviet stances kept them from going to a full-blown state of war between each other. A speech made by Nasser in January decried the British continued presence at Sudan, insisting that the United Kingdom would never give up on their colonialist ambitions and adventures at the region, fueling even more tensions with British Sudan which had already been quite restless ever since Britain backed on their word of giving independence to the country by 1956.
However, Nasser’s apparent alignment towards Moscow also caused problems in the region, emboldening Communist movements that saw in Nasser a fellow communist and ally to fight against the Western imperialists while at the same time providing “evidence” to fervent anti-communists about the danger of allowing Nasser to act unchecked in the Middle East. On the latter half of 1957, Syria was widely considered to be on the verge of falling to communism, with individuals such as Nasser believing it too despite the lack of evidence and facts. But this proved to be a hidden blessing for Nasser as well, fears of communism pushed the Syrian elites into petitioning to Nasser the absorption of their country into Egypt and merging both.
Having resisted initially to a total merger, Nasser eventually accepted due to the fears of a Communist takeover if Syria wasn’t reorganized following the lines of the Egyptian example. Thus, despite lacking universal approval, the Syrian elites accepted that the future of the country depended on Egypt. By February 1958 the merging was concluded and formalized, the United Arab Republic was established, and this development sent shockwaves through the entire region. Soon other Arab countries had to deal with the consequences of the merging of both countries, while Egypt was itself busy with reorganizing the new country and determining how it would work. The conditions agreed by both parties included the dissolution of the political parties of Syria, the withdrawal of the army from politics and despite not mentioning it at the moment, it would later on include subordination of the military officers to the Egyptian ones and Syria basically turning into another Egyptian province.
Despite having internal issues to deal with, Nasser and the United Arab Republic didn’t take long to act on the international stage. The situation at Lebanon had been deteriorating for over a year with Maronite Christians and Sunni Muslims pitting against each other and against the government, the UAR quickly started supporting the efforts of the Arabs of Lebanon which desired to join into the new state. At the same time, an uprising of Arab nationalists within Jordan took place on March 5th against the government of king Hussein, despite the rumors of his death the king was able to quickly regain the support of the army through the Bedouin units, stopping the coup attempt entirely.
Having learnt from this experience and worriedly observing the United Arab Republic, king Hussein proposed to his cousin at Baghdad (Faisal II) the establishment of an Arab Federation composed by both Hashemite kingdoms. With the French renewal of hostilities in Algeria taking place by March 5th and Hussein’s proposal being made one day later, the mood of Arab nationalists within Iraq was one of distress. Leading Arab nationalists feared that the establishment of the Arab Federation would be followed up with a crackdown against them, having seen that in Jordan after the failed coup and fearing losing the opportunity to act, they chose to strike at once on March 9th.
Abdul Salam Arif (left) and Abd al-Karim Qasim (right) were the main leaders of the 1958 Iraqi Coup, afterwards a power struggle ensured and Arif emerged victorious.
Abd al-Karim Qasim and Abdul Salam Arif were the most prominent voices within Iraq’s native Free Officer Movement, as plenty of other Arabs in the region they had been inspired by Nasser and his Pan-Arabist ideals and Arab nationalism. At the same time, domestically times had been tough for Iraq, there was political and economic unrest towards the established authorities which were seen as mere puppets of the Western imperialists. The successes achieved by Egypt under Nasser were seen as the successes of the Arab people, the population soon fell in love with the ideals spread by Cairo and the fierce opposition to the British and French in the region.
After the failed coup directed against king Hussein of Jordan, his cousin, king Faisal II of Iraq ordered the Royal Iraqi Army to move towards Jordan to reinforce the country against the southward’s movement of Syrian troops of the United Arab Republic. Taking this order as the golden opportunity it was, both Qasim and Arif moved against Baghdad and launched an all-out coup d’état against king Faisal II. In the early hours of March 9th, Arif seized control of Baghdad’s broadcasting station and announced to the country the revolution that was taking place, he denounced imperialism and proclaimed both a new republic and the end of the old regime.
While other forces were dispatched to deal with the previous government and the royal family, plenty of troops and soldiers were reorganized and ordered to keep marching towards Jordan, though they would only cross the border with Arif’s strict approval. The streets of Baghdad were an utter chaos after Arif fueled mob violence against any possible traitor, at the same time, Qasim arrived to establish the headquarters at the Ministry of Defense building and al-Said was eventually found and executed along the royal family: putting an end to the Iraqi Hashemite dynasty.
In the following days tensions arose between Qasim and Arif regarding the future of Iraq, Qasim was at first an Iraqi nationalist and thought that Iraq should stay independent and follow a path of its own. Meanwhile, Pan-Arabist Arif considered that Iraq should join the United Arab Republic to continue furthering the goal of Arab unity, nationalism, and freedom through the Middle East. Both agreed to wait until the situation at Jordan was fully solved, though Arif anticipated that Qasim could probably act against him sooner or later, so he focused on gaining the loyalty of the troops at Baghdad along using Nasser’s popularity to his advantage due to how strong it was.
Iraq was frozen for an entire week, the government refused to elaborate on the new stances it would have besides their withdrawal from the Baghdad Pact and harsh criticism aimed at the United Kingdom. The United Arab Republic allocated an estimated number of three thousand soldiers (despite being Syrian troops, they were led by Egyptians) while Iraqi provided the bulk of the army that would launch the invasion of Jordan. Between March 15th and March 16th, the coalition of Arab forces crossed Jordan’s borders and moved towards Amman to renew the uprising suffocated by the loyalist forces days ago.
The joint invasion ended up being a complete success, Arab nationalist forces quickly overwhelmed the Bedouin loyalist units and secured the capital in a matter of hours. However, the revolutionaries failed to capture king Hussein and the royal family, being smuggled towards Saudi Arabia once the invasion begun. As Arif received news of the victory at Jordan, he ordered the Baghdad garrison to move against Qasim, ending up with the power struggle way before it became worse. Having been Qasim’s subordinate and due to the respect he had towards him, Arif placed him on house arrest and forbid him from participating in politics or military affairs, silently removing him from the public eye.
Both Jordan and Iraq renamed themselves to Arab Republics and as Arif centralized power in Baghdad his Jordanian counterpart did the same in Amman, Ali Abu Nuwar. On the following days both countries officially petitioned to join the United Arab Republic, receiving Nasser’s approval despite his fears of losing Egypt’s preponderance in the union with Syria. Arif’s political strength in Iraq meant Nasser wouldn’t be able to handle the country the same way he planned to do with Syria, negotiations would be needed in the long run if the UAR was meant to last.
The enlargement of the United Arab Republic caused panic in Beirut and Riyadh, the Lebanese Arabs were emboldened by the successes and victories achieved by Nasserist ideals. At the same time, the UAR increased their support towards the Muslim leaders of Lebanon, pushing president Chamoun into asking the United States for help in the current crisis. Meanwhile, in Saudi Arabia, king Saud bin Abdulaziz feared the strength of the new United Arab Republic and started preparations in case of a war against them while at the same time a crackdown was organized and directed towards any possible sympathizer of Nasser within the country. But those weren’t the only countries to fear the establishment and enlargement of the UAR, both Iran and Turkey were distressed as well due to the apparent Soviet alignment of the UAR, they felt encircled and in the case of Iran, there were fears due to the Arab population in Khuzestan province.
Another country to feel the shockwaves made by the UAR victories was British Sudan, resistance towards the colonial administration turned violent and continuous protests and strikes were made to shake off the chains of British colonialism. Despite the fears of neighboring countries, the United Arab Republic had one priority in the region, expelling the British once and for all, in a decisive manner. Supplies, advisors and volunteers were dispatched towards Sudan, the British would leave on their own terms or under Cairo’s terms. Nasser was more than ready to fight and sponsor a guerrilla war or whatever was needed to secure Egypt’s southern flank. He didn’t know the British government had been already considering leaving Sudan, the situation was untenable and American pressure through the backdoors had shown London that staying at Sudan could backfire in the long run, this already made decision would translate into one more success for Nasser eventually.
The United Arab Republic after accepting the applications of the Arab Republics of Jordan and Iraq, fear was the principal reaction coming out of places like Riyadh, Tel Aviv, Ankara, Teheran and Beirut: at least from those who were enemies of the Pan-Arabist Nasserist ideal and regime.
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Bangkok, Kingdom of Thailand. ~ March 29th, 1958.
Opposition to Plaek Phibunsongkhram had been rising through the last years and demands for further democratization and economic reforms had been made as well, however, his hold unto power seemed almost impossible to disrupt. Ever since the arrival of American advisors and supply shipments more and more rumors were heard about the possibility of a coup against the prime minister, after all, he was still remembered as the one leading Thailand during World War II. Everyone at Thailand was shocked to learn about the mobilization of the armed forces, taking everyone by surprise and especially military officers that were considering launching a coup of their own mere weeks before Phibun made his own move.
In the weeks following the coup a great number of advisors and cargo shipments arrived at Bangkok, unknowingly to the general population, plenty of the advisors belonged to the CIA instead of the US Armed Forces. In the span of two or three months, CIA operatives turned Bangkok into one of the most ambitious centers of intelligence operations at Southeast Asia, though at Phibun’s petition, the CIA agents focused first on domestic enemies laid out by the prime minister. There were suspicions levied against the military officers and other political parties, especially due to rumors of Indochinese infiltration among the rank and file of the army.
Pichit was one of those soldiers with secret affiliations to the Thai Communist Party, the economic inequalities and issues at Thailand had slowly pushed him towards the propaganda the Indochinese kept distributing among border provinces. He started supporting the Communists by providing them food rations, ammunition and in some cases maps or intel regarding the unit movements in the area, but after receiving a warning from one of the officers about a planned purge he chose to finally join the recently created combat squads of the Communist Party, financed, and supported by the government at Hanoi.
“There are rumors about an upcoming operation by the intelligence services and the armed forces, however, the positions of the army here at Bueng Kan aren’t strong enough yet,” Pichit explained to one of the Vietnamese officers at the storage room. Over the last days plenty of Vietnamese soldiers and officers had crossed the Mekong, getting there to help evacuate some of the members of the Communist guerrillas and combat squads or providing resources for the Thai Communist Party to use.
“What about Nakhon Phanom?” asked the Vietnamese officer, silently staring at the group of refugees fleeing from the increasing violence by the government. “Are there American forces in the vicinity?”
Pichit kept talking about the military secrets of the Thai Army and detailing the different positions and tactics employed by the government, unknowingly to him, the Vietnamese officer and his associates belonged to a government sponsored unit composed by Catholic refugees fleeing from Saigon. It was just one more of the tactics employed by the CIA agents at Bangkok, Thailand would be prepared for the eventual conflict against Indochina, whenever Hanoi chose to invade, Thailand would be ready to strike them back.
Operation Wasp had been planned ever since Vietnam conquered Laos and Cambodia, with growing tensions at the Indochinese Peninsula the American government green lighted the operation to begin, advisors and supply soon arrived to Bangkok, behind closed doors Washington also forged an informal alliance between Thailand and Korea.
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Okay, so, here it is, the next update!
Apologies for taking such a long time I've been either busy or distracted, but another reason for the long delay was that I wanted to actually research a bit more about the situation of the Middle East by this historical point and since I felt this update was such an important one I wanted to hammer it out properly. As we can see, France has been given some sort of free hand by Washington since there are fears of a Communist takeover, at the same time, America continues facing challenges to their foreign policy and the Eisenhower Doctrine: so far despite winning at Korea the Americans can easily be considered to be relatively "losing" the Cold War so far due to some blunders: 1) 1954 Taiwan Strait Crisis, which results were reversed after the Sino-Korean Border War. 2) Vietnam rampaging through Indochina. 3) Egypt aligning towards Moscow and with these recent events, practically almost the entire Middle East (despite America not knowing Nasser isn't willing to align with the Soviets). While they also face developments which they don't know how to react to: 1) France turning into a military dictatorship due to fears of a Communist Conspiracy. 2) Fulgencio Batista dropping dead and a revolutionary movement arising (which, as for now, is still moderate and I will try to revisit later on, though America already hated Batista so...).
And let's not forget the Sputnik launched on 1956, so, morale could be getting a bit low on America's end. However, as we can see, the Eisenhower administration is waking up and trying to deal with the numerous fires burning in Asia. Operation Wasp being conceived and carried out to use Thailand as a counterweight against Communist influence on Southeast Asia and Korea being considered one of the key partners for the security of the region. And most importantly, America is now getting decided on stopping the UAR and Nasser before the region turns out "worse". Despite this, each regional ally has their own issues to deal with as well. But don't assume the UAR will have it easy, one of the main reasons it failed in OTL was due to Nasser going full pharaoh on Syria and treating it as a province of Egypt (which caused tensions within Syrian elites), here he will need to moderate his stances since Abdul Salam Arif and Ali Abu Nuwar aren't just puppets (well, Nuwar can be considered one since he failed in his own coup haha), in the case of Iraq they willingly joined and they themselves overthrew their government without asking for external help, the moment Cairo starts pharaon-ing Baghdad, the moment Iraqi nationalists will call it quits.
I also wanted to provide a sneak peak on the events I made for Thailand to detail Operation Wasp, we will revisit more of the country in the future, next update will follow on the Arab movements in 1958, we'll probably pay a visit to one of our favorite Communist countries and possibly see a bit more about the Consulate foreign policy's plans.
Take care and I hope you enjoy this update!
EDIT: Oh, and thanks @Specialist290 !!
I'm glad you like those interludes, those are kinda the hardest to write (for me) on English but I always feel they really contribute to paint a clearer picture for the reader, to see the way the decisions taken by the top ones are affecting the country, the tangible effects of the intangible decisions taken by "higher" individuals.