Abstract
The study aimed to track the positions of the British press, with its different political and intellectual ideologies, regarding the occupation of the city of Tikrit during the British campaign against Iraq in 1914, due to the great importance of the British press as a primary source of historical studies. Based on the above, the British press and the depth of its influence on British public opinion, with its diverse intellectual trends and different affiliations, and what it monitored of developments regarding the occupation of the city of Tikrit, November 1917, formed a basis for moving forward in this modest research.
The study reached the following results:
1. The British newspapers paid clear attention to the occupation of the city of "Tikrit" and its suburbs during the period (November 2-30), as the "conservative" newspapers devoted articles to supporting the British campaign on the city, considering it an important step towards Mosul on the one hand, and to strengthening its influence in the region on the other hand .
2. The newspapers with a "liberal trend" took a somewhat more critical position towards the attack on the city, but they continued to support the increasing British presence there .
3. The editors of the "liberal" newspapers were divided, as some of them considered the British influence an exploitation of power, in addition to some of them expressing their concerns about the moral justifications and consequences of imperial expansion and the possibility of a rift in British-European relations, while others saw benefits to the penetration and consolidation of influence in Iraq in spreading the ideals of free trade, democratic reforms, modernization, and development in those countries.
4. The positions of the newspapers with a "socialist trend" were characterized by British penetration into Mesopotamia by criticizing or "opposing" the expansionist trend from a leftist perspective, while economic newspapers supported economic commercial interests in Mesopotamia as new markets for British products .
5. The position of the "radical" newspapers was characterized by limited influence on foreign policy. The prevailing British press at that time witnessed extensive and focused coverage of British colonial expansion in Mesopotamia and the region, which helped build popular support for these policies .
6. It seems clear that British newspapers shed light on the occupation of Tikrit on all levels (economic, political, and social), an interest that increased with the continuous progress towards the city of Mosul, rich in oil resources, to take a major historical turn with the occupation of the city and the defeat of the Turks entrenched in Tikrit, especially with the escalation of international competition over Iraq, a competition that turned into a "conflict" and then into a "clash" in World War I, in which Iraq and its lands were one of its main arenas
The study reached the following results:
1. The British newspapers paid clear attention to the occupation of the city of "Tikrit" and its suburbs during the period (November 2-30), as the "conservative" newspapers devoted articles to supporting the British campaign on the city, considering it an important step towards Mosul on the one hand, and to strengthening its influence in the region on the other hand .
2. The newspapers with a "liberal trend" took a somewhat more critical position towards the attack on the city, but they continued to support the increasing British presence there .
3. The editors of the "liberal" newspapers were divided, as some of them considered the British influence an exploitation of power, in addition to some of them expressing their concerns about the moral justifications and consequences of imperial expansion and the possibility of a rift in British-European relations, while others saw benefits to the penetration and consolidation of influence in Iraq in spreading the ideals of free trade, democratic reforms, modernization, and development in those countries.
4. The positions of the newspapers with a "socialist trend" were characterized by British penetration into Mesopotamia by criticizing or "opposing" the expansionist trend from a leftist perspective, while economic newspapers supported economic commercial interests in Mesopotamia as new markets for British products .
5. The position of the "radical" newspapers was characterized by limited influence on foreign policy. The prevailing British press at that time witnessed extensive and focused coverage of British colonial expansion in Mesopotamia and the region, which helped build popular support for these policies .
6. It seems clear that British newspapers shed light on the occupation of Tikrit on all levels (economic, political, and social), an interest that increased with the continuous progress towards the city of Mosul, rich in oil resources, to take a major historical turn with the occupation of the city and the defeat of the Turks entrenched in Tikrit, especially with the escalation of international competition over Iraq, a competition that turned into a "conflict" and then into a "clash" in World War I, in which Iraq and its lands were one of its main arenas
Keywords
Al-Dour City
British Campaign
British Newspapers
British Press Political Trends
Conservative Press
Liberal newspapers
Radical Newspapers
Socialist Newspapers
Tikrit City