Description
Book SynopsisBetween 1962 and 1965 Britain engaged in covert operations in support of Royalist forces fighting the Egyptian backed Republican regime that had seized power in the Yemeni capital Sana'a in September 1962. Covert action was regarded as a legitimate tool of foreign policy as Britain attempted to secure the future of the newly formed South Arabian Federation against the animus of Nasser. The use of covert action, as well as the quasi approval given to the use of mercenaries to support the Royalist cause, was the inevitable result of policy differences within Whitehall (most notably between the mandarins' of the Colonial Office and the Foreign Office) as well as international constraints imposed upon the UK in the aftermath of the Suez crisis. The book examines the extent to which British policy, while successful in imposing a war of attrition upon Nasser in the Yemen, contributed to the political demise of the very objective covert action was designed to secure: the future stability of the Federation of South Arabia. The study makes extensive use of primary sources in producing the first detailed account of British involvement in the Yemen Civil War, and how the experience shaped British foreign policy. It breaks new ground by analyzing the extent to which Britain came to support the Royalist cause despite public declarations of non-involvement in the Yemen conflict, and details for the first time how London's tacit support for mercenary operations' in the Yemen came to enlist the help of Saudi Arabia and Israel.
Trade Review"...Jones' descriptions of mercenary activities, the machinations of the Saudis and Jordanians, is all derring do and a rattling good yarn. A rare combination of a sober academic study and a riveting page-turner!" -- Asian Affairs.
Table of ContentsContents: Acknowledgements; Key Terms, Acronyms and Abbreviations; Introduction: Themes and Issues; Britain and the Yemen Civil War: Prelude to Intervention; The Legacy of Yemeni Irredentism: The Debate over Recognition of the YAR; Between Whitehall and the White House: Anglo-American Relations ; A Constrained Response: The Limits of Covert Action; The Mercenary Operations: British Subterfuge and the French Connection; A Very British Affair': The Guerrilla Campaign, October 1963-September 1964; Plus ca change, plus la meme chose': The Labour Government, Aden, and the Yemen Civil War; From the Jaws of Victory': The Political Defeat of Britain in South Arabia; Conclusion: Political Conviction and the BMO; Notes; Bibliography; Index.
