Lord Curzon, addressing the Central Asian Society on Tuesday evening,
said that the Government's policy in the Middle East was not to absorb territory but to give security, "to make peaceful spaces in the chaos, landing places in the storm." He hoped that the Persian Government would lay the Perso-British agreement before their Parliament. It was to Persia's interest to accept the agreement which would give her British support in maintaining her independence. As for Mesopotamia, we had had "to fill the gap left by the destruction of the existing form of government during the war." There was no one but ourselves to fill it. Lord Curzon declared once more that he earnestly desired to set up an Arab Government. "It was not a question of painting Mesopotamia red but of redeeming the country from anarchy." In Arabia, Lord Curzon said, "great difficulties had occurred owing to the ambitions of other countries," but he hoped for some form of Arabian unity. The greatest danger, be indicated, lay in Afghanistan where the Bolsheviks were stirring up trouble for us and for the Afghans.
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