Dr. Heather S. Gregg and Dr. James D. Scudieri – On The Grand Strategy of Gertrude Bell: From the Arab Bureau to the Creation of Iraq

The remarkable life of early-twentieth-century British adventurer Gertrude Bell has been well documented through her biographies and numerous travel books. Bell’s role as a grand strategist for the British government in the Middle East during World War I and the postwar period, however, is surprisingly understudied. Investigating Gertrude Bell as both a military strategist and a grand strategist offers important insights into how Great Britain devised its military strategy in the Middle East during World War I—particularly, Britain’s efforts to work through saboteurs and secret societies to undermine the Ottoman Empire during the war and the country’s attempts to stabilize the region after the war through the creation of the modern state of Iraq. As importantly, studying the life and work of Bell offers a glimpse into how this unique woman was able to become one of the principal architects of British strategy at this time and the extraordinary set of skills and perspectives she brought to these efforts—particularly, her ability to make and maintain relationships with key individuals. Bell’s life and work offer insights into the roles women have played and continue to play as influencers of grand strategy.

Read the monograph here.

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Keywords: World War I, Iraq, grand strategy, Arab Bureau, Turkey, Britain
Episode Transcript: On The Grand Strategy of Gertrude Bell: From the Arab Bureau to the Creation of Iraq
Stephanie Crider (Host) 

You're listening to Conversations on Strategy. The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the authors and are not necessarily those of the Department of the Army, the US Army War College, or any other agency of the US government.  

Conversations on Strategy welcomes doctors Heather Gregg and Jim Scudieri. Gregg is a professor of irregular warfare at the George C. Marshall European Center for Security and the author of The Grand Strategy of Gertrude Bell: From the Arab Bureau to the Creation of Iraq. 

Scudieri is the senior research historian at the Strategic Studies Institute. He's an associate professor and historian at the US Army War College. He analyzes historical insights for today's strategic issues.  

Heather, Jim, thanks so much for being. Here I'm really excited to talk to you today. 

Dr. Heather S. Gregg 

It's great to be here. Thank you so much. 

Dr. James D.  Scudieri 

Likewise, thank you for taking the time to meet with us. 

Host 

What did the Middle East look like in the lead up to World War I? Who were the major players in the region? 

Gregg 

Unlike the Western Front, the war was very different in the Middle East. And I would say this was a big game of influence. And you had major European powers. You had a declining Ottoman Empire. You had the rise of Arab nationalism. And all of this kind of came into a very interesting confluence of events during World War I. 

Scudieri 

And complicating that amongst major players are … the British don't have a unified position, so if you look at stakeholders, you need to distinguish between the British leaders in London, those in Cairo, and those in India. 

Gregg 

That’s a huge point that there is a great power struggle between these three entities over who should be controlling the Middle East and why. And this becomes important for the story of Gertrude Bell. 

Host 

The manuscript is divided into three periods—during World War I, the period of British military occupation of Mesopotamia, and Britain's creation of the State of Iraq during the mandate era. Let's discuss British military and grand strategy in each period. What was British military strategy in the Middle East during World War I? 

Scudieri 

So, there's still a lot of historical debate on exactly what the strategy was. Some would say there wasn't much of a strategy,