British Military Intervention and the Struggle for Jordan: King Hussein, Nasser and the Middle East Crisis, 1955-1958

269 Pages·2009·6.31 MB·English

by  Stephen Blackwell

British Military Intervention
and the Struggle for Jordan
British Politics and Society
SERIES EDITOR: PETER CATTERALL
The Making of Channel 4 Defi ning British Citizenship
Edited by Peter Catterall Empire, Commonwealth and
Modern Britain
Managing Domestic Dissent in Rieko Karatani
First World War Britain
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Debates in Twentieth Century Britain
Edited by Peter Catterall, Wolfram Creating the National Health
Kaiser and Ulrike Walton-Jordan Service
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1916–1918
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Keynes
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Post-War British Sport Mark Clapson
Edited by Adrian Smith and
Dilwyn Porter Scottish Nationalism and the Idea
of Europe
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Disraeli’s Awkward Disciple Atsuko Ichijo

Archie Hunter
The Royal Navy in the Falklands
Conservative Party Attitudes to Confl ict and the Gulf War
Jews 1900–1950 Culture and Strategy
Harry Defries Alastair Finlan
Poor Health The Labour Party in Opposition
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Edited by Virginia Berridge and
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Since the 1880s
Edited by Stuart Ball and Ian Holliday
Popular Newspapers, the Labour Inside the Welfare State
Party and British Politics Foundations of Policy and Practice
James Thomas in Post-War Britain
Virginia A. Noble
In the Midst of Events
The Foreign Offi ce Diaries and British Military Intervention and
Papers of Kenneth Younger, the Struggle for Jordan
February 1950–October 1951 King Hussein, Nasser and the
Edited by Geoffrey Warner Middle East Crisis, 1955–1958
Stephen Blackwell
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Huguenots, Jews and Bangladeshis in
Spitalfi elds 1666–2000
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Conscription in Britain
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The Labour Governments 1964–
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Modernization of Britain
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Financier among Statesmen,
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Martin Farr

British Military Intervention
and the Struggle for Jordan
King Hussein, Nasser and the
Middle East Crisis, 1955–1958
Stephen Blackwell

New York London
First published 2009
by Routledge
270 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10016
Simultaneously published in the UK
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2008.
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© 2009 Stephen Blackwell
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any
form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented,
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Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Blackwell, Stephen.
British military intervention and the struggle for Jordan : King Hussein, Nasser and
the Middle East crisis, 1955-1958 / by Stephen Blackwell.
p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Jordan—Foreign relations—Great Britain. 2. Great Britain—Foreign relations—
Jordan. 3. United States—Foreign relations—Arab countries. 4. Arab countries—Foreign
relations—United States 5. Egypt—History—Intervention, 1956. 6. Nationalism—
Jordan. I. Title.
DS154.16.G7B53 2009
956.04'4—dc22
2008023453
ISBN 0-203-88714-X Master e-book ISBN
ISBN10: 0-7146-5699-2 (hbk)
ISBN10: 0-203-88714-X (ebk)
ISBN13: 978-0-7146-5699-1 (hbk)
ISBN13: 978-0-203-88714-1 (ebk)
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Contents
List of Abbreviations xi
Acknowledgements xiii
1 Introduction: Jordan, Suez and the Decline of British
Infl uence in the Middle East 1
2 Glubb’s Jordan: The Arab Legion, the Hashemites and the
Nationalist Challenge, 1948–1956 10
3 Amman Under the Shadow of Nasser: Jordanian
Nationalism and the Suez Crisis, April–November 1956 31
4 The British Abandonment and the American Retrieval of
Jordan, November 1956–April 1957 50
5 The Kings Against the Colonels: Jordan and the Anglo-
American Plot to Overthrow the Syrian Government, 1957 70

6 Combating Nasser: Anglo-American Support for Jordan,
Iraq and Lebanon, November 1957–June 1958 89
7 The Baghdad Coup and the Macmillan Government’s
Decision to Intervene in Jordan, 14–17 July 1958 107
8 A Tenuous Foothold: British Paratroops Deploy in
Amman, July–August 1958 126
9 Managing the International Crisis: Creating a UN
‘Mantle’ for Jordan, September–November 1958 144
10 Belated Reappraisals: Anglo-American Policy,
Regional Nationalism and the Future of Jordan,
November 1958–March 1959 162