A sweeping examination of how Winston S. Churchill, first as Secretary for War and Air, and then as Colonial Secretary, both formulated and enacted the British imperial mandate policy for Iraq and Palestine, thereby laying the groundwork for issues that are still relevant today including conflicts in Israel and internal political upheavals in Iraq.

Chapter 1: Winston S. Churchill and the Middle East
Chapter 2: Great Britain and the Middle East
Chapter 3: Secretary of State for War and Air
Chapter 4: Middle East Dilemmas
Chapter 5: Secretary of State for the Colonies
Chapter 6: The Cairo Conference of 1921
Chapter 7: Approval of Parliament
Chapter 8: Slow Progress
Chapter 9: No Progress
Chapter 10: Iraq: From Stalemate to Solution
Chapter 11: Policy for Palestine
Chapter 12: Summary and Conclusion

“Sara Reguer, professor of history at Brooklyn College, addresses Churchill’s role in shaping [the Middle East] in her incisive monograph. Specifically, she examines his influence on the flow of events in Iraq and Palestine from 1919–1922, when he served, initially, as Secretary of State for War and Air and, later, as Secretary of State for the Colonies. Reguer makes extensive use of British archives to compare Churchill’s influence on developments in the Middle East during the time when he held each Office… As the occupant of the latter office, Churchill had much more leeway to shape the region in accordance with his vision. And, as Reguer documents, he did so with alacrity. To make a long story short, he did far more than any other individual in the British government – both in terms of policy development and policy implementation – to create what would eventually become the states of Iraq and Transjordan, carving them out of the Middle Eastern landscape as vassal states that Britain could dominate on terms that were economically and militarily affordable to an empire still in recovery from the exertions of the First World War… Churchill, in short, certainly fits the bill as a ‘great man’ with respect to his influence over the path taken by Middle Eastern affairs in the early twentieth century. Indeed, the ramifications of his policies and actions continue to reverberate throughout the contemporary Middle East a century later. Reguer’s book offers an eye-opening and persuasive guide to Churchill’s influence in the region.”

— David Rodman, Israel Affairs (October 2021)

"Reguer offers detailed look at Churchill’s actions in the Fertile Crescent, Palestine and Mesopotamia... She clearly did a substantial amount of archival research. We read extensive excerpts from letters, telegrams, memos, and meetings minutes, especially those written by Churchill. Yet Reguer is adamant that this is not a biography of Churchill. She poses two primary questions: Do individuals like Churchill make history? Are historical events bound by the present situation or merely by chance?... [T]his … exemplary study is a credible supplement to Fromkin’s Peace to End All Peace. It is as well an excellent complement to Martin Gilbert’s official biography. So kudos to Sara Reguer for another fine addition to the Churchill literary corpus.”

—William John Shepherd, the Hillsdale College Churchill Project