Lawrence and the Arabs No one will question the decisive
influence exercised by Colonel Lawrence on the war in the East. But for his personal prowess, his imaginative understanding of the Arabs, his shrewd choice of associates, and his resourceful leadership in guerilla warfare the Arab forces could not have been mobilized and effectively used against the Turks, and Lord Allenby's task in Palestine would have been far harder. But whether he may not have unduly increased the expectations and ambitions of the Arabs by the magnitude of his promises and by enabling them to over-estimate the ,character of their achievements in the War is another. question.. On the other hand, though the post-War settlement of Iraq was profoundly, influenced by him, it would be unfair to hold him responsible for subsequent policy in that country, for that was largely determined by British political con-, siderations and the desire to escape from Mesopotamian commitments.
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