867N.01/8–1844
The Minister in Iraq (Henderson) to the Secretary of State
[Received August 30.]
Sir: I have the honor to attach hereto a memorandum5 which contains a summary of statements made to me on August 10, 1944, by Arshad al-Umari, the Iraqi Minister for Foreign Affairs, outlining the policy which the Iraqi Government has decided to adopt with regard to the activities of Zionists in the United States.
It will be observed that the Iraqi Government plans to prevent the appearance at least during the next few months in the local press of articles criticizing the United States and Great Britain because of the activities of Zionists in those countries and hopes after the American presidential elections have taken place to establish in cooperation with other Arab countries bureaus in the United States and Great Britain for the purpose of explaining to the public the Arab side of the Palestine problem.
The Foreign Minister in outlining the decisions of the Iraqi Government in this respect to the British Chargé d’Affaires6 added that it was hoped that Nuri Pasha, the former Iraqi Prime Minister, might be appointed Iraqi Minister in London where he would be in a position to play an important role in directing the work of the Arab bureaus and in explaining the Arab cause to the British Government and people.
The fact that there has been a decline in references in the Iraqi press to the Zionist planks in the platforms of the Republican and Democratic Parties indicates that the Iraqi Government is already applying its new policy. Among Iraqis interested in international affairs these planks continue to be the favorite topic of conversation.
Respectfully yours,