The State Department had instructed Truman to prevail upon the prince to allow U.S. airlines to make use of airfields in Iraq. “If such rights are given to us,” the State Department advised, “Iraq will become one of the crossroads of our post-war aviation system.” Confidential sources had revealed that the British were secretly trying to block the United States’ landing rights in Iraq, because of their own interests in the Mideast. More important was the region’s black gold. “Iraq is extremely rich in oil,” the State Department advised. “Some geologists believe that the oil resources of Iraq
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When iraqi prince visited
