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Royal <strong>Air</strong> Force Operations in South-West Arabia 1917-1967 46 <strong>Air</strong> <strong>Power</strong>, <strong>Insurgency</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> “War on Terror”
Chapter 3 Royal <strong>Air</strong> Force Operations in South-West Arabia 1917-1967 Peter Dye <strong>Air</strong> control was an essential component of British policy in south-west Arabia for over fifty years. <strong>Air</strong>craft offered a cost-effective method of exercising influence over an area of some 100,000 square miles; largely unmapped, <strong>and</strong> as inaccessible as it was lawless. In <strong>the</strong> aftermath of <strong>the</strong> First World War, <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> collapse of <strong>the</strong> Ottoman Empire, <strong>the</strong> RAF proved highly efficient in protecting British interests across <strong>the</strong> Middle East while reducing <strong>the</strong> size of ground forces employed in garrison duties, all at significant savings to <strong>the</strong> Treasury. This remained <strong>the</strong> case through <strong>the</strong> interwar years <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> immediate post-war period. However, punitive air action, so successful at suppressing b<strong>and</strong>itry, proved less effective in combating <strong>the</strong> growing resistance to British authority that emerged in <strong>the</strong> 1950s with <strong>the</strong> rise of Arab nationalism; particularly after Suez. The techniques of air control were found inadequate against <strong>the</strong> insurgencies that developed across sou<strong>the</strong>rn Arabia. As a result, new strategies were introduced that saw air power as integral to joint operations conducted on a larger scale <strong>and</strong> at a higher intensity. Although militarily successful, <strong>the</strong> long-term effect was to streng<strong>the</strong>n <strong>and</strong> widen <strong>the</strong> insurgency. Some historians have gone so far as to assert that punitive air action was a flawed concept incapable of actually controlling those determined to resist British authority. When confronted by serious resistance, air power inflicted such extensive <strong>and</strong> serious damage that it entrenched opposition while exciting <strong>the</strong> interest of <strong>the</strong> international community. This chapter will explore <strong>the</strong> history of British air control in south-west Arabia in <strong>the</strong> context of imperial policing across <strong>the</strong> Middle East. It will discuss <strong>the</strong> realities of punitive air action <strong>and</strong> consider whe<strong>the</strong>r its employment was as deeply flawed as has been suggested. Although strictly outside its geographic focus, <strong>the</strong> narrative will also touch on <strong>the</strong> RAF contribution to <strong>the</strong> Jebel Akhdar campaign from 1957 to 1959. Finally, it will assess <strong>the</strong> Radfan campaign of 1964/65 <strong>and</strong> discuss whe<strong>the</strong>r, in light of subsequent developments, air power ei<strong>the</strong>r disguised or contributed to strategic <strong>and</strong> political failure. Definitions Before I go any fur<strong>the</strong>r, I should perhaps explain four terms used throughout this chapter: <strong>Air</strong> Control: The policy of assigning responsibility for defence of a region to <strong>the</strong> <strong>Air</strong> Ministry (<strong>and</strong>, de facto, assigning comm<strong>and</strong> to <strong>the</strong> senior RAF officer). <strong>Air</strong> Policing: The employment of aircraft to maintain <strong>the</strong> internal security of a state. <strong>Air</strong> <strong>Power</strong>, <strong>Insurgency</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> “War on Terror” 47
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