The Revolution and pacts (7). The Arab Quartet: The last ditch. As Iraq remained stubborn and determined to establish a pact with Turkey, the Arab League was in a race with time to convince the Iraqi government to reconsider its position in order to avoid an imminent crisis that would split the Arab world and further aggravate Arab differences. It was thus decided to dispatch a high-level Arab delegation to Baghdad to enlighten the Iraqi government on the inevitable repercussions of signing a pact with Turkey. The delegation comprised the prime minister of Lebanon, the foreign ministers of Lebanon, Syria and Jordan, and major Salah Salem, Egyptian Minister of National Guidance. Reporting this as 'the last attempt to keep Iraq within the Arab League, The Egyptian Gazette of February 1, 1955 said in a story headlined: Salah Salem flies to Baghdad with Arab delegation 'Last attempt to keep Iraq within League' “The four-man delegation representing the Arab Prime Ministers Conference, left for Baghdad yesterday morning by an Egyptian service aircraft to explain to the Iraqi authorities the consequences of the projected Turco-Iraqi pact, in light of the discussions of the Cairo conference. “The task of the mission is described by well-informed Arab circles as 'the last attempt to keep Iraq within the Arab League and so save the Arab Collective Security Pact'.” “The first to arrive in Almaza Airfield was el-Sayyed Samy el-Solh, the Lebanese prime minister. He was followed by el-Sayyed Faidy el-Attasy, Syrian Minister of Foreign Affairs, el-Sayyed Walid Salah, Jordan's foreign minister, and major Salah Salem, the Egyptian Minister of National Guidance. “The delegation was formed on the suggestion if el-Sayyed Walid Salah, Jordan's Foreign Minister. It was approved by Egypt on the understanding that its mission should be to convey to Iraqi authorities that Arab countries were unanimous in rejecting the step, taken by el-Sayyed Nury el-Said, the Iraqi Prime Minister, in connection with the projected Turco-Iraqi pact. The delegation returned to Cairo empty-handed. The Egyptian Gazette of February 3, 1055 quoted the Syrian foreign minister as saying: “….The Iraqi leaders in Baghdad emphasised to the deputation that they would not revoke their decision to sign the Turco-Iraqi pact and that the decision was dictated by the particular strategic and geographical position of Iraq.”
