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All the paragraph is as follow:
The twists and turns of Iraq’s complex politics at the time of the Second World War, fascinating or tedious depending on one’s interests, have been well documented.1 Of relevance here is the fact that throughout 1940 the political merry- go- round, in which members of a narrow elite tussled for office and senior military leaders sought to shape national policy, produced a succession of prime ministers but failed to fix upon an effective policy given the proximity of war. On occasion troops were stood to arms in support of rival factions, the regent Prince Abdulillah prudently leaving Baghdad to be close to loyal troops until things blew over. Deeply internal matters of contention, sometimes revolving around the Sunni–Shia divide, were refracted through the extraordinary politics of a world war. The main actors in this drama were Nuri as- Said, the prime minister, and Rashid Ali al- Gailani, the head of the king’s executive office, the Royal Diwan, along with the Golden Square officer cabal. While all protagonists desired genuine independence for Iraq and nurtured ardent ambitions for greater Arab unity, they differed in the extent to which they saw Britain retaining a role in developments. Some, like Nuri, considered Britain essential to Iraq’s existence and too powerful to be cast off. Others, like Rashid Ali and the Golden Square, saw Britain as an insurmountable obstacle to the pursuit of their goals for Arab and Iraqi independence – and viewed a triumphant Germany as the perfect vehicle to which to hitch their ambitions.
