On This Day In 1973: Some Refreshing Candor From An Arabist
David Lange
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This is what Sir (Albert) James Craig, Head of the Near East and North Africa Department, had to say after meeting the PLO representative in London – on this very day in 1973.
From the Foreign and Commonwealth Office records (FCO 93/182, Craig to Balfour-Paul (Amman), 29 August 1973)
Via James Vaughan, a historian of UK-Israeli relations, who tells me the PLO guy Craig met actually ended up getting murdered, most probably by the Abu Nidal organization.
James also reminds us that Craig was no friend of Israel, but rather an FCO Arabist who later became the ambassador to Saudi Arabia. He has a point. In James’ words, “He often took it upon himself to undermine policy suggestions coming from the Tel Aviv embassy. Probably more a result of. his assessment of where British regional interests lay than due to anything more sinister.”
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David Lange
