Air Power, Insurgency and the “War on Terror” - Prof. Joel Hayward's ...

Chapter 3
favour of aircraft when post-war decisions were taken about how to best meet <strong>the</strong> defence
needs of Aden <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> Middle East in general.
The Protectorates
Although Aden was clearly <strong>the</strong> focus of British interest it occupied just 75 square miles
compared to <strong>the</strong> 112,000 square miles of <strong>the</strong> Protectorates. The exact area was uncertain
as <strong>the</strong> boundaries were never formally demarcated. Beyond Aden, <strong>the</strong> terrain was largely
desert or arid mountains, rising to over 8,000ft on <strong>the</strong> border with Yemen. There were
few roads <strong>and</strong> even fewer towns in what was largely a barren l<strong>and</strong>scape characterised
by deep ravines <strong>and</strong> small fortified villages. The tribes of <strong>the</strong> Protectorates, numbering
perhaps no more than 450,000 individuals, 79 were independent of <strong>the</strong> British Government
but linked by over thirty treaties of protection <strong>and</strong> friendship –<strong>the</strong> last signed in 1954
– sustained by annual gifts of rifles <strong>and</strong> ammunition – often on a considerable scale.
The choice of tribes to be honoured by treaty was somewhat arbitrary, based more on
subjective assessments than any detailed knowledge on <strong>the</strong> part of <strong>the</strong> Resident. This
reflected a general neglect <strong>and</strong> lack of vigour on <strong>the</strong> part of those responsible for <strong>the</strong>
colony. As a result, after nearly 100 years of British rule, <strong>the</strong> Western Aden Protectorate
(some 22,000 square miles stretching from <strong>the</strong> south-west tip of Arabia, including
Perim Isl<strong>and</strong>, to <strong>the</strong> east of Wadi Ahwar <strong>and</strong> bounded to <strong>the</strong> north by Yemen) was rarely
visited <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> Eastern Aden Protectorate (some 90,000 square miles stretching from
Wadi Ahwar to <strong>the</strong> Omani frontier <strong>and</strong> bounded to <strong>the</strong> north by <strong>the</strong> Empty Quarter) was
largely unexplored.
The district tribes were all formed on <strong>the</strong> same model, a chiefly family surrounded by a
confederation of small tribes attached by ties of varying strength. Within <strong>the</strong> chiefly family,
<strong>the</strong> chief was elected, his power depending on <strong>the</strong> strength of his personality. There were
three types of chiefs: those who ruled by influence, hereditary right <strong>and</strong> conquest. In some
ways, <strong>the</strong> latter were <strong>the</strong> easiest to underst<strong>and</strong> since <strong>the</strong>ir rule largely followed a feudal
pattern. On <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r h<strong>and</strong>, <strong>the</strong> hereditary chiefs seemed unable to comprehend <strong>the</strong> word
“rule” preferring to use <strong>the</strong> weapons supplied by <strong>the</strong> British to settle private feuds or to
sell <strong>the</strong>m to <strong>the</strong> highest bidder. As a result <strong>the</strong> politics of south-west Arabia represented,
according to one experienced observer, “wild complications”. 80
<strong>Air</strong> Policing
The first recorded employment of “air policing” in Arabia was <strong>the</strong> rescue in September
1919 of Colonel Jacob’s Mission at Bajil, a small town in <strong>the</strong> Yemen hinterl<strong>and</strong>, some forty
miles from <strong>the</strong> port of Al Hudaydah. Once <strong>the</strong> Turkish army had departed, <strong>the</strong> Imam of
San’a, leader of <strong>the</strong> Zeidi Sect, had re-established his control over <strong>the</strong> high plateau of <strong>the</strong>
Yemen. He also repudiated all boundaries accepted by <strong>the</strong> Turks, openly claiming all of
sou<strong>the</strong>rn Arabia, including <strong>the</strong> port of Aden.
<strong>Air</strong> <strong>Power</strong>, <strong>Insurgency</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> “War on Terror” 51