About this Item
Original printed wraps 22x28cm, with typescript title and date (18 Jan 1944) to front, and information on the Studies Committee inside. 8pp typescript printed to rectos. Ex-college library copy with their small, neat stamp over-stamped "Withdrawn" to the front, and their reference stamp inside front wrap (no other marks). Good, with 2 hard horizontal creases where this was folded. The Council on Foreign Relations was founded in 1921 as a foreign policy and international relations think tank. Its members include high level political, intelligence, financial, legal, academic and media figures. During 1939-45 it gained much greater influence with the State Department when it established the strictly confidential "Studies of American Interests in the War and the Peace" chaired by Norman Davies, and entirely funded by Rockefeller. It was kept secret even from Council members not party to its deliberations. It was divided into 4 groups: economic and financial; security and armaments (headed by Dulles); territorial; and political. The Territorial Group was headed by Isaiah Bowman, geographer and President of Johns Hopkins University. William Linn Westermann (1873-1954) was at this time Professor of Ancient History at Columbia, President of the American Historical Association, and a member of the Territorial Group. This paper examines the history of British and Russian rivalry in Iran; German intrigues ("super clever machinations" resulting from "the overweening ambition of Haji Wilhelm", "the incredible Wassmuss", "the recent use by Haji Hitler of 'archaeologists' including a certain Niedermeyer and Fritz Grobba"), the US in Iran, and the problem posed by the British-Russian-US agreement at the Tehran Conference (1 Dec 1943) to recognise Iranian independence. He concludes that the agreement is "fortunate" for US oil interests given its stakes in the Iraq Petroleum Company and Aramco; the US would benefit from continued British naval dominance in the Indian Ocean; US involvement would mean Iran would no longer be "a constant source of irritation in the conflicting plans of only two rival powers"; and would strengthen British-Russian relations ("both Moslem powers") "in complete accord with American ideas as to what is fair and just in dealing with the less powerful peoples". Extremely rare - no institutional holdings located, and very few online references. Seller Inventory # 4961
Contact seller
Report this item
