8 January 1926 Sir Samuel Hoare, British Secretary of State for Air, summed up his views concerning Baghdad in a candid memorandum: I was at great pains to oppose the proposals of the Colonial Office and Sir Henry Dobbs for the formation of an Iraq air service. I made no secret of my reason, namely that I was determined to keep as long as possible in the hands of the Imperial Government the exclusive use of the most potent instrument in our possession, the air arm. If we allow the French and the Germans and the Italians to fly into the country, I am certain that the movement, already strong and already favoured by Mr. Amery for an Iraq air force, will be difficult to resist…… The Directorate of Civil Aviation exists for the encouragement of British civil aviation and for no other purpose. World schemes for international co-operation have no interest for me except in so far as they stimulate British civil flying…… It should be remembered that the Iraq Government should be, if we play our cards properly, entirely in our hands, and need not be allowed to take any action of which we disapprove. In these circumstances I should like a communication sent to the Colonial Office and, if necessary, to the Foreign Office, putting every obstacle possible in the way of allowing foreign firms, French or other, to go to Baghdad, and pressing for the longest possible delay in allowing the entry of Iraq into the I.C.A.N.
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