ABSTRACT
But Arab political circles did not show much enthusiasm for the Allied cause. The fact that Italy remained neutral and the danger of war operations was removed from the Near and Middle East gave the Arab world a feeling of relief.1 True, there was no lack of official assurances that the Arabs supported the cause of democracy, that they were linked by common aims and ideals to the anti-Hitler coalition, that the place of the Arab countries was alongside Great Britain, etc.2 But behind these ardent assurances was the conviction that it would be incorrect under existing conditions to offend Great Britain or France.3
