§ 35. Captain BERKELEYasked the Prime Minister whether the Royal Air Force, or any part of it, or any force of aircraft under the control of British authorities, is or has been engaged in en-forcing or attempting to enforce upon any part of the population of the mandated territory of Iraq the payment of taxes, either by bomb-dropping or otherwise; if so, whether the British Government has concurred in the taking of such measures; if not, whether, under the existing constitution of that territory, it would be possible for such measures to be taken without the knowledge of the British Government; whether he is in a position to make a full statement upon the matter; and, if not, whether he will order a full inquiry and lay the results upon the Table of this House?
§ The UNDER-SECRETARY of STATE for the COLONIES (Mr. Ormsby-Gore)There is no foundation for any suggestion that bomb dropping or other offensive action by aircraft is resorted to in Iraq or any other area for the purpose of enforcing payment of taxes or in punishment for non-payment. The normal duties of aircraft in Iraq are those of patrol and communication. Offensive action is in no 274 case undertaken except in reply to open and armed defiance of the administration or to attacks upon the native police forces of a kind which would otherwise necessitate expeditions by ground units. Such action, when undertaken, is under sole control of the British authorities, acting at the request of the Arab Government. In order to give every opportunity to the tribes concerned to submit to the Government, explicit warnings are habitually issued to them before any air action is taken, and these warnings, even when they do not lead to immediate submission, enable the inhabitants to withdraw from the area selected. The result is that casualties have been few.
I am assured that the use of aircraft under these conditions has achieved insults at least equal to those obtainable by ground expeditions and at a smaller toll of life and property. The reports received show that the number of cases in which the mere threat of air action is sufficient to bring about the desired result far exceeds the occasions where offensive air action is found to be actually necessary, and the High Commissioner reports that it is no exaggeration to say that air action amongst the Euphrates tribes has saved far more human lives than it has destroyed by restoring order and preventing inter-tribal fighting.
The Secretary of State is in communication with the High Commissioner on the whole subject, and as soon as full details have been received the matter will be exhaustively reviewed by His Majesty's Government.