ABSTRACT
CENTO was an important alliance in British policy towards the Middle and Near East. British policy towards Turkey and Anglo-Turkish relations cannot be considered in isolation. They were crucially affected by the revolutionary turmoil in the Middle East in 1958. The military coup in Iraq had taken the Western Powers and the members of the Baghdad Pact 1 completely by surprise, including the British Embassy in Iraq. Early on the morning of Monday 14 July, Macmillan was telephoned by Selwyn Lloyd with the news that there had been a violent revolutionary coup by dissident army units in Baghdad. 2 On the same day the Foreign Secretary, Selwyn Lloyd, also informed the Cabinet about the coup in Iraq:
The position was obscure; but unconfirmed reports indicated that the insurgents claimed to have overthrown the monarchy and to have established a republican government; that King Feisal, after being initially detained, had been allowed to escape; the crown Prince of Iraq and the Prime Minister Nuri es-said, had been killed; and that the British Embassy had been burnt and one of the member of its staff had lost his life. We appeared to be maintaining our position at Habbaniya, but it was uncertain how long we could continue to do. 3
