University of London Oman and the West: State Formation in Oman since 1920 A thesis submitted to the London School of Economics and Political Science in candidacy for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Francis Carey Owtram 1999 UMI Number: U126805 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Dissertation Publishing UMI U126805 Published by ProQuest LLC 2014. Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 bLOSiL ZZLL d ABSTRACT This thesis analyses the external and internal influences on the process of state formation in Oman since 1920 and places this process in comparative perspective with the other states of the Gulf Cooperation Council. It considers the extent to which the concepts of informal empire and collaboration are useful in analysing the relationship between Oman, Britain and the United States. The theoretical framework is the historical materialist paradigm of International Relations. State formation in Oman since 1920 is examined in a historical narrative structured by three themes: (1) the international context of Western involvement, (2) the development of Western strategic interests in Oman and (3) their economic, social and political impact on Oman. The incorporation of the Arabian littoral into the security sphere of the British empire in India separated the Imamate in the mountainous interior of Oman from the British- backed Sultans in Muscat. This culminated in the Treaty of Sib in 1920 following which the government of the Sultanate was restructured by British officials. The discovery of oil in Bahrain in 1932 marked a new phase in the incorporation of the Arabian peninsula into the capitalist world-system. In south-east Arabia this led to the occupation of the interior in 1955 by the British-supported forces of Sa’id bin Taimur. The coup of 1970 in which Qabus became Sultan allowed the development of a pro- Western rentier state and the defeat of the rebels in Dhofar. British imperial withdrawal from the region was completed with the relinquishment of its bases in the Sultanate of Oman in 1977. The development of a strategic relationship between Oman and the United States in the 1980s enhanced American military deployment during the Kuwait crisis of 1990-1991. In the aftermath of this conflict Oman faces the challenge of political development in an environment of diminishing oil reserves. Table of Contents Abstract i Table of Contents ii Acknowledgements iii Abbreviations iv Notes to the Reader v Introduction 001 Chapter 1 The Literature Review 018 Chapter 2 Oman and British Imperial Expansion 1798- 1920 053 Chapter 3 Informal Empire in Oman 1921 - 1931 084 Chapter 4 The Expansion of the Sultanate 1932 - 1955 108 Chapter 5 The Consolidation of the Omani State 1956 - 1977 145 Chapter 6 Western Strategic Interests in the Contemporary Omani State 206 Conclusions 273 Appendices US government documents Appendix A ‘English Interest in Possible Oil Deposits in the Arabian Peninsula’, 1931 291 Appendix B Visit of the Sultan of Muscat and Oman to the United States 296 Appendix C ‘Information on the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman and his country’, 1938 299 Appendix D Current Information on Muscat, 1949 308 UK government documents Appendix E ‘Muscat and Oman’, 1960 314 Appendix F ‘Muscat Annual Report for the Year 1965 ’ 335 Appendix G Operation Fate, 1966 346 Appendix H ‘Security - Muscat and Oman’, 1966 347 Appendix I ‘Persian Gulf Annual Review for 1967’ 352 Japanese Bank document Appendix J Request for political risk assessment 363 Bibliography 365 ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS It is a pleasure to thank people who have helped me with this project in various ways. I first discussed the topic of Oman and the West with Dr David Pool at the University of Manchester. At the London School of Economics Professor Fred Halliday has supervised this thesis with interest and encouragement and I have benefited from his incisive comments. I valued my conversations on Oman and Aden with my fellow PhD students at the LSE, Abdul Malik al-Hinawi and Christian Lekon. The input from the examiners of the thesis, Dr Charles Tripp and Professor Tim Niblock, considerably sharpened various aspects of the study. I would like to particularly thank my parents, Peter and Jane Owtram, without whose help this thesis would not have been completed. I would also like to thank Michael Owtram for his contribution. The rest of my family encouraged me in this endeavour in many ways. Finally, I would like to thank Corinne Lynne for all her support. ABBREVIATIONS AOC Air Officer Commanding AW AC Airborne Warning and Control System BATT British Army Training Team BFAP British Forces Aden Protectorate CID Committee of Imperial Defence DLF Dhofar Liberation Front EEIC English East Indian Company FO Foreign Office; Foreign Office Records in the PRO GCC Gulf Cooperation Council IPC Iraq Petroleum Company MOFF Muscat and Oman Field Regiment MR Muscat Regiment MT$ Maria Theresa Dollar NCO Non-Commissioned Officer NLF National Liberation Front NFR Northern Frontier Regiment ORM Oman Revolutionary Movement PDO Petroleum Development (Oman) Ltd PFLO/AG Popular Front for the Liberation of Oman; previously Popular Front for the Liberation of Oman and the Arabian Gulf or Popular Front for the Liberation of the Occupied Arabian Gulf PGSC Persian Gulf Sub-Committee of the CID PRO Public Records Office (London) RAF Royal Air Force RDF Rapid Deployment Force SAF Sultan’s Armed Forces (Oman) SAS Special Air Services (British) SOCAL Standard Oil of California SOAF Sultan of Oman’s Air Force SGRF State General Reserve Fund UAE United Arab Emirates USAAF US Army Air Force USCENTCOM US Central Command NOTES TO THE READER The Harvard system has been used for references to books in the text. The author’s name and the date of publication are given in the text, while the full reference is given in the bibliography. A numbered footnoting system, however, has also been employed - where elaboration is made of points in the text or where the reference is to material in a media source or unpublished primary sources. Transliteration of Arabic words and names has generally followed that used in the International Journal o fMiddle Exist Studies. The conflict involving the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait 1990-1991 is termed the Kuwait War. v Introduction The genesis of this thesis was in an interest in the reasons for the military involvement of Western powers, particularly Britain and the United States, in the Persian Gulf area since World War Two. Oman provided an interesting country for an examination of one particular case in depth. Thus the main focus of the thesis is the development of Western strategic interests and military involvement in Oman in the 20th century. Engagement with Oman on this basis led to an exploration of the historical origins and context for this Western involvement and its impact on Omani society. Study followed of the way in which Omani society had developed, given its ecology and geographical position, and of concepts and theorisation which could explain the relationship between Oman, Britain and the United States. Theories of state formation and informal imperialism have been chosen for the theoretical framework of the thesis. The attention paid to Western strategic interests and military involvement is justified with regards to its relevance to the analysis of state formation as military support to the Sultanate has been the most significant support given by the West; without it the Sultanate would most likely not exist. This thesis analyses, therefore, the external and internal influences on the process of state formation in Oman in the period since 1920 during which Oman developed from part of Britain’s informal empire to a state in the contemporary international system. The thesis aims to address three central questions on informal empire and state formation in the case of Oman. (1) What factors have been most significant in the process of state formation in Oman in the era of modem Middle East politics? (2) In comparative perspective, what is it about state formation in Oman that makes Oman 1 different from the other GCC states: Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates? (3) To what extent are the concepts of informal empire and collaboration useful in analysing the relationship between Oman and the West? With regard to the first question the thesis advanced is that the modem Omani state has been produced by the process of interaction between imperialism, that is, external domination or intervention in some form, and anti-imperialism, that is, the internal resistance, as expressed in the repeated rebellions of Omanis. The external intervention at every stage in the process of state formation in the modem era was based not on economic interests intrinsic to Oman but for strategic and foreign policy reasons relating to economic interests external to Oman. Thus it has been Western strategic interests and Oman’s geopolitical strategic importance in the broad context of Persian Gulf policy which have most influenced the evolution of Oman’s contemporary state from the pattern of Oman’s ‘traditional’ political dynamics - those pertaining prior to the impact of the West and the incorporation of Oman into the world capitalist market. The impact of capitalism on the Omani political system was mediated twofold, externally and internally.