remained behind with the infantry. Influence in Iraq Aged 25, Cox first travelled in the Middle East. In 1915 he was sent by the British army to negotiate: On 6 October he met Leachman at Aziziyeh to discuss how to free Baghdad. An emissary was sent into the city to see Nuri al-Said. The Iraqi commander in the pay of the Ottomans was responsible to Talaat Pasha, one of the Young Turks whose coup d'état had seized power in Constantinople/Istanbul. Cox was deeply sceptical about "conciliating with the Arabs". Nuri's Basra Reform Society were negotiating with Cox when the British appointed the violent and intemperate Sayyid Talib as governor of the province. He was eager to work with the Imperial forces, but was deeply unpopular with local Shias. Cox ordered Talib and Nuri to be arrested; they were promptly deported to prison in India for treasonous attempts to stir up revolt. The general turned statesman-diplomat disapproved of army plans to extend the autonomous region; advising against plans to invade into the interior, which he knew to be fraught with dangers. In January 1915, Sir John Nixon's appointment to head a new division with orders from Shimla encouraged the diplomat to draft a similar text for General Nixon that launched the fateful mission to Kut al-Amara. "This would create endless problems for Great Britain…" wrote Gerard Leachman in March 1915, explorer, traveller from India. Cox early on spotted the important alliance that lay with Ibn Saud. In his capacity as the senior Foreign and Commonwealth Office official, Cox received secret intelligence reports on Ottoman troop movements. In his dealings he was "stoic, patient and tolerant, never allowing any hint of frustration no matter how perverse the commands of his government or the action of his people…". In January 1915, he was alerted to the Banu Lam and Bani Turuf tribes mobilising for war, declaring Jihad in Persia. Cox was confident that "Qurna was strong" and would hold against an assault. It was imperative to protect the oil pipelines into the Gulf at Abadan; the government ordered a brigade to this duty. Cox was well aware from his own experiences of the vulnerability of the frontier. He was highly respected as a quick, efficient, tireless and energetic soldier-diplomat, as well as being incorruptible. He held a genuine interest in local people, the Arabs and Persians, and was a shrewd and patient listener.