Cold War in the Desert: Britain, the United States and the Italian Colonies, 1945–52

217 Pages·2000·1.769 MB·English

by  Saul Kelly (auth.)

Cold War in the Desert
Cold War History Series
General Editor: Saki Dockrill, Senior Lecturer in War Studies, King’s College,
London
The new Cold War History Series aims to make available to scholars and students
the results of advanced research on the origins and the development of the Cold
War and its impact on nations, alliances and regions at various levels of state-
craft, and in areas such as diplomacy, security, economy, military and society.
Volumes in the series range from detailed and original specialised studies, pro-
ceedings of conferences, to broader and more comprehensive accounts. Each
work deals with individual themes and periods of the Cold War and each author
or editor approaches the Cold War with a variety of narrative, analysis, explana-
tion, interpretation and reassessments of recent scholarship. These studies are
designed to encourage investigation and debate on important themes and
events in the Cold War, as seen from both East and West, in an effort to deepen
our understanding of this phenomenon and place it in its context in world his-
tory.
Titles include:
Günter Bischof
AUSTRIA IN THE FIRST COLD WAR, 1945–55
The Leverage of the Weak
Martin H. Folly
CHURCHILL, WHITEHALL AND THE SOVIET UNION, 1940–45
Saul Kelly
COLD WAR IN THE DESERT
Britain, the United States and the Italian Colonies, 1945–52
Donette Murray
KENNEDY, MACMILLAN AND NUCLEAR WEAPONS
Cold War History
Series Standing Order ISBN 978-0-333-79482-1
(outside North America only)
You can receive future titles in this series as they are published by placing a standing order.
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Customer Services Department, Macmillan Distribution Ltd, Houndmills, Basingstoke,
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Cold War in the Desert
Britain, the United States and the Italian
Colonies, 1945–52
Saul Kelly
Research Fellow in History
University of Westminster
First published in Great Britain 2000 by
MACMILLAN PRESS LTD
Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS and London
Companies and representatives throughout the world
Acatalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
IISSBBNN 997788--11--334499--4411444433--77 ISBN 978-0-333-98532-8 (eBook)
DOI 10.1057/9780333985328
First published in the United States of America 2000 by
ST. MARTIN’S PRESS, INC.,
Scholarly and Reference Division,
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Kelly, Saul, 1957–
Cold War in the desert : Britain, the United States, and the Italian colonies,
1945–52 / Saul Kelly.
p. cm. — (Cold War history)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. World politics—1945–1955. 2. Italy—Colonies—Africa—History—20th
century. 3. Cold War. I. Title. II. Series
D1058 .K35 2000
909.82'4—dc21
99–054822
©Saul Kelly 2000
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2000 978-0-333-76155-7
All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made
without written permission.
No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written
permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act
1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright
Licensing Agency, 90 Tottenham Court Road, London W1P0LP.
Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to
criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
The author has asserted his right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance with
the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained
forest sources.
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
09 08 07 06 05 04 03 02 01 00
Contents
List of Maps vi
Acknowledgements vii
Introduction 1
1. The Soviet and American Initiatives, 1945 6
2. Byrnes, Bevin and the Temporary Settlement, 1946 36
3. Anglo-American Cooperation on Cyrenaica, 1946–7 69
4. The Failure of the Four Powers, 1947–8 93
5. The UN Settlement, 1948–9 110
6. Implementing the UN Resolutions, 1949–52 132
Conclusion 164
Notes 173
Bibliography 191
Index 196
v
List of Maps
Libya viii
Greater Somalia ix
vi
Acknowledgements
Although this book is the result of my own work, it could not have
been completed without the help of a number of people and institu-
tions. I would like to acknowledge the assistance of the staffs of the
Public Record Office, Kew; the British Library, London; the London
Library; the libraries of the University of Cambridge, the University of
London, the London School of Economics and Political Science, the
School of Oriental and African Studies; the National Archives,
Washington, DC; the Library of Congress and the Truman Library,
Independence, Missouri. The maps in this book are from the Public
Record Office.
I would like to thank Dr John Kent and Professor D. Cameron Watt
of the London School of Economics for their advice during the
research and writing of the PhD thesis on which this book is based.
Dr Michael Dockrill and Dr Saki Dockrill of the War Studies
Department, King’s College, London, encouraged me to turn the thesis
into a book and Eleanor Birne at Macmillan and Ruth Willats, have
provided the editorial support. My thanks also to Anthony Gorst,
Dr Lewis Johnman and the University of Westminister, London, for
granting me a Research Fellowship, and providing me with convivial
company, both of which have helped me to complete this work. Sally
Marks, in her usual cheerful way, facilitated my research in the
Diplomatic Records Branch of the National Archives and Mark
Thompson in Cambridge provided much needed back-up for my
wayward wordprocessors. I owe a special debt of gratitude to my
parents and my wife, Judith, for their support.
Saul Kelly
Cambridge
vii
viii
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ix
CRET R SKETCH MAP TO ILLUSTRATE
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RESEARCH DEPT. F.O. August 1945 Somali country
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