View source for Central Treaty Organization

{{For|the NGO|Middle East Treaty Organization}}
{{short description|Cold War military alliance (1955–1979)}}
{{Infobox organisation
| name = Central Treaty Organization
| bgcolor = <!-- header background colour -->
| fgcolor = <!-- header text colour -->
| image = Flag of CENTO.svg
| image_border = 
| size = <!-- default 200 -->
| alt = CENTO flag
| caption = Flag
| map = Cento zoom.svg
| msize = 
| malt = 
| mcaption = CENTO members shown in green
| abbreviation = CENTO
| motto = 
| formation = 24 February 1955
| dissolved = 16 March 1979
| type = [[Intergovernmental organization|Intergovernmental]] [[military alliance]]
| status = <!-- ad hoc, treaty, foundation, etc -->
| purpose = <!-- focus, such as humanitarian, peacekeeping, etc. -->
| headquarters = [[Baghdad]] (1955–1958)<br/>[[Ankara]] (1958–1979)
| location = 
| coords = <!-- Coordinates of location using a coordinates template -->
| region_served = [[Eurasia]]
| membership = {{Collapsible list|title=5 states|{{flagcountry|Pahlavi dynasty|1964}}|{{flagcountry|Kingdom of Iraq}} (until 1959)|{{flag|Pakistan}}|{{flag|Turkey}}|{{flag|United Kingdom}}}}
| language = <!-- official languages -->
| leader_title = <!-- position title for the leader of the org -->
| leader_name = <!-- name of leader -->
| main_organ = <!-- gral. assembly, board of directors, etc -->
| parent_organisation = <!-- if one -->
| affiliations = <!-- if any -->
| num_staff = 
| num_volunteers = 
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| website = 
| remarks = 
}}

The '''Central Treaty Organization''' ('''CENTO'''), formerly known as the '''Middle East Treaty Organization''' ('''METO''') and also known as the '''Baghdad Pact''', was a [[military alliance]] of the [[Cold War]]. It was formed on 24 February 1955 by [[Pahlavi Iran|Iran]], [[Kingdom of Iraq|Iraq]], [[Pakistan]], [[Turkey]], and the [[United Kingdom]]. The alliance was dissolved on 16 March 1979.

U.S. pressure and promises of military and economic aid were key in the negotiations leading to the agreement, but the [[United States]] could not initially participate. [[John Foster Dulles]], who was involved in the negotiations as [[United States Secretary of State]] under President [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]], claimed that was due to "the [[Israel lobby in the United States|pro-Israel lobby]] and the difficulty of obtaining Congressional Approval."<ref>[[Selwyn Lloyd]]; ''Suez 1956: A Personal account''</ref> Others said that the reason was "for purely technical reasons of budgeting procedures."<ref>Hadley, Guy. ''CENTO: The Forgotten Alliance'' ISIO Monographs, University of Sussex, UK (1971): 2.</ref>

In 1958, the U.S. joined the military committee of the alliance.<ref>{{cite book |title=A Dictionary of Aviation |first=David W. |last=Wragg |isbn=9780850451634 |edition=first |publisher=Osprey |year=1973 |page=88}}</ref> It is generally viewed as one of the least successful of the Cold War alliances.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |last=Martin |first=Kevin W. |editor=Ruud van Dijk |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of the Cold War |title=Baghdad Pact |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rUdmyzkw9q4C&q=cento+%22least+successful%22+%22baghdad+pact%22&pg=PA57 |access-date=2009-01-30 |year=2008 |publisher=Routledge |location=New York |isbn=978-0-415-97515-5 |pages=57 |quote=Thus, the Baghdad Pact is widely considered the least successful of the Cold War schemes engendered by the Anglo-American alliance.|display-editors=etal}}</ref>

The organization's headquarters was in [[Baghdad]], [[Iraq]] from 1955 to 1958 and thereafter in [[Ankara]], [[Turkey]] from 1958 to 1979. [[Cyprus]] was also an important location for CENTO due to the British military bases in [[Akrotiri and Dhekelia]] along with the island’s location in the [[Middle East]].<ref>Dimitrakis, Panagiotis, The Value to CENTO of UK Bases on Cyprus", ''Middle Eastern Studies'', Volume 45, Issue 4, July 2009, pp 611–624</ref>

==History==
[[File:F-4Es 50th TFW in Iran 1977.JPEG|thumb|left|200px|Three U.S. Air Force McDonnell Douglas [[McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II|F-4E Phantom II]] aircraft parked at [[Shiraz International Airport|Shiraz Air Base]], [[Pahlavi dynasty|Iran]], during exercise Cento, 1 August 1977]]

Modeled after the [[NATO|North Atlantic Treaty Organization]] (NATO), METO committed the nations to mutual cooperation and protection, as well as non-intervention in each other's affairs. Its goal was to [[containment|contain]] the [[Soviet Union]] (USSR) by having a line of strong states along the Soviet Union's southwestern frontier. Similarly, it was known as the 'Northern Tier' to prevent Soviet expansion into the Middle East.<ref name=LenczAmerPres>[[George Lenczowski]], ''American Presidents and the Middle East'', 1990, p. 88</ref> Unlike NATO, METO did not have a unified military command structure, nor were many American or British [[military bases]] established in member countries, although the United States had communications and electronic intelligence facilities in Iran, and operated [[Lockheed U-2|U-2]] intelligence flights over the Soviet Union from bases in Pakistan. The United Kingdom had access to facilities in Pakistan and Iraq at various times while the treaty was in effect.  

On 14 July 1958, the Iraqi monarchy was overthrown in a [[14 July Revolution|military coup]]. The new government was led by military officer [[Abd al-Karim Qasim]] who withdrew Iraq from the Baghdad Pact, opened diplomatic relations with Soviet Union and adopted a non-aligned stance. The organization dropped the name 'Baghdad Pact' in favor of 'CENTO' at that time.  

The [[Middle East]] and [[South Asia]] became extremely volatile areas during the 1960s with the ongoing [[Arab–Israeli conflict]] and the [[Indo-Pakistani wars and conflicts|Indo-Pakistani wars]]. CENTO was unwilling to get deeply involved in either dispute. In 1965 and 1971, Pakistan unsuccessfully tried to get assistance in its wars with [[India]] through CENTO, but this was rejected under the idea that CENTO was aimed at containing the Soviet Union, not India.

[[File:1958-01-30 Baghdad pact.ogv|thumb|[[Universal Newsreel]] about the Baghdad Pact]]

CENTO did little to prevent the expansion of Soviet influence to non-member states in the area. Whatever containment value the pact might have had was lost when the Soviets 'leap-frogged' the member states, establishing close military and political relationships with governments in [[Egypt]], [[Syria]], [[Iraq]], [[South Yemen]], [[Somali Democratic Republic|Somalia]], and [[Libya]]. By 1970, the Soviet Union had deployed over 20,000 troops to Egypt, and had established naval bases in Syria, Somalia, and South Yemen.

The alliance's stance and perceived indifference toward Pakistan losing territory with Indian participation upon Bangladesh's independence in 1971 permanently damaged the alliance's reputation in Pakistan in particular and harmed its standing in general, as the lack of a collective response to a member's territorial integrity being challenged cast doubt on its efficacy and utility and generated skepticism that the alliance was mutually beneficial rather than a tool of Anglo-American and Western hegemony. Whereas other alliance members stayed out of the Indo-Pakistani wars on the grounds that the alliance didn't need to defend Pakistan since it was intended to contain the Soviet Union not India, Eastern Bloc members readily assisted less Western-friendly Arab governments' 1973 attack on Israel. Anti-Western interests engaged in a more activist foreign policy regionally by participating overtly in Middle Eastern conflicts in one form or another and one of the original arguments in favor of the increasingly passive alliance, that it'd serve as a valuable counterweight to the influence of Nasser's Soviet-friendly Arab nationalism, was discredited and weakened.

The [[Iranian Revolution]] spelled the end of the organization in 1979, but in reality, it essentially had been finished since 1974, when [[Turkish invasion of Cyprus|Turkey invaded Cyprus]]. This led the United Kingdom to withdraw forces that had been earmarked to the alliance – Nos 9 and 35 Squadrons flying [[Avro Vulcan]] bombers,{{sfn|Lee|1989|pages=180, 192-3}} and the [[United States Congress]] halted military aid to Turkey despite two presidential vetoes.<ref name=LenczAmerPres/> With the fall of the Iranian monarchy, whatever remaining rationale for the organization was lost. Future U.S. and British defence agreements with regional countries – such as Pakistan, Egypt, and the Arab-Gulf states – were conducted bilaterally.

With the withdrawal of Iran, the Secretary-General of CENTO, Turkish diplomat Kamuran Gürun, announced on March 16, 1979, that he would call a meeting of the pact's council in order to formally dissolve the organization.<ref>
{{cite news |title=CENTO pact members to dissolve alliance soon |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=vJYuAAAAIBAJ&pg=5263%2C6037291 |newspaper=[[The Gazette (Montreal)|The Gazette]] |agency=[[Associated Press |5=AP]] |location=Montreal |date=1979-03-17 |page=46 |access-date=15 March 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151117042328/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=vJYuAAAAIBAJ&sjid=haEFAAAAIBAJ&pg=5263%2C6037291 |archive-date=2015-11-17 |url-status=live }}
</ref>

==Membership==
* {{flagcountry|UK}} (since April 1955),
* {{flagcountry|Kingdom of Iraq}} (until March 1959),
* {{flagcountry|Pahlavi dynasty|1964}} (November 1955 — March 1979),
* {{flagcountry|Pakistan}} (September 1955 — March 1979),
* {{flagcountry|Turkey}}
** [[Turkey]]'s role in the Baghdad Pact was one of a unique and elevated nature compared to other nations such as [[Iraq]]. It was given "special" attention by the West primarily due to its [[Geopolitics|geopolitical]] importance. It was believed that the Turks could draw [[Arab world|Arab countries]], such as Iraq, closer to the projected anti-communist Arab alliance, as the former would have been of inspiration for other "like-minded" countries. It was also hoped that by agreeing to the Baghdad Pact the Turkish and the Iraqi relations would get their time in the sun. However, this optimism was not rewarded as Iraq was under constant threat of the infiltration of Turkish troops [against Kurdish separatists], and Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri was desperate to strike an agreement.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Jasse|first=Richard|date=Winter 1991|title=The Baghdad Pact: Cold War or Colonialism|journal=Middle Eastern Studies|volume=27|issue=1|pages=140–156|doi=10.1080/00263209108700852}}</ref> Finally, the Turkish courting by western nations, such as the US, did not have the outcome that was desired as Arab countries, primarily [[Egypt]], turned hostile to the pact.

==Timeline==
* February 1954: Turkey signs a Pact of Mutual Cooperation with Pakistan.
* May 19, 1954: U.S. and Pakistan sign a Mutual Defense Assistance Agreement.
* February 24, 1955: Iraq and Turkey sign a military agreement in Baghdad and the term "Baghdad Pact" started to be used. United Kingdom (April 5), Pakistan (September 23) and Iran (November 3) joined the Baghdad Pact in the same year.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Baghdad Pact (1955) and the Central Treaty Organization (CENTO)|url=https://2001-2009.state.gov/r/pa/ho/time/lw/98683.htm|access-date=2023-07-10|website=2001-2009.state.gov|date=7 January 2008 }}</ref>
* October 1958: Baghdad Pact headquarters moved from Baghdad to Ankara.
* March 5, 1959: U.S. signs military agreements with Pakistan, Iran and Turkey.
* March 24, 1959: The new republican regime of Iraq withdrew the country from the alliance.
* August 19, 1959: METO renamed CENTO.<ref>
{{Cite web |title=Records of International Military Agencies |url=https://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/333.html#333.8.2 |access-date=2023-08-31 |website=www.archives.gov}}</ref>
* 1965: Pakistan tried to get help from its allies in its war against India.<ref>
CENTO nation help sought by Pakistan. Chicago Tribune. September 7, 1965 [http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1965/09/07/page/3/article/cento-nation-help-sought-by-pakistan] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150909011614/http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1965/09/07/page/3/article/cento-nation-help-sought-by-pakistan/|date=2015-09-09}}
</ref> The [[United Nations Security Council]] passed [[United Nations Security Council Resolution 211|Resolution 211]] on September 20 and the United States and the United Kingdom supported the UN decision by cutting off arms supplies to both belligerents.<ref>
The India-Pakistan War of 1965. Office of the Historian, Bureau of Public Affairs, United States Department of State [https://history.state.gov/milestones/1961-1968/india-pakistan-war] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150708043508/https://history.state.gov/milestones/1961-1968/india-pakistan-war|date=2015-07-08}}   
</ref>
* 1971: In a new war with India, Pakistan again tried unsuccessfully to get allied assistance. (The U.S. provided limited military support to Pakistan,<ref>{{cite book|last=Ambrose|first=Stephen E.|year=1989|title=Nixon: The Triumph of a Politician 1962–1972|volume=II|url=https://archive.org/details/nixon00ambr|publisher=Simon & Schuster|location=New York|isbn=978-0-671-72506-8|url-access=registration}}</ref> but not under the rubric of CENTO.)
* 1971: Bangladeshi independence causes the alliance to shrink for a second time as the newly sovereign country does not pursue CENTO membership.
* 1974: The United Kingdom withdraws forces from the alliance following the [[Turkish invasion of Cyprus]].
* March 11, 1979: The [[Interim Government of Iran (1979)|Interim Government of Iran]] withdraws the country from CENTO.
* March 12, 1979: Pakistan withdraws from CENTO.
* March 16, 1979: CENTO is formally disbanded. United Kingdom and Turkey withdraw from CENTO.

==Secretaries General==
A Secretary General, appointed by the council of ministers for a renewable three years, oversaw CENTO activities. Secretaries general were:<ref>From Encyclopedia Iranica. http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/central-treaty-organization-cento-a-mutual-defense-and-economic-cooperation-pact-among-persia-turkey-and-pakistan-wi {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131117014404/http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/central-treaty-organization-cento-a-mutual-defense-and-economic-cooperation-pact-among-persia-turkey-and-pakistan-wi |date=2013-11-17 }}
</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.worldstatesmen.org/International_Organizations.html|title=International Organizations A-L|first=Ben|last=Cahoon|website=www.worldstatesmen.org}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Name !!State!! In office
|-
|Awni Khalidy
|{{Flagcountry|Kingdom of Iraq}}
|1955 – December 31, 1958
|-
|[[Osman Ali Baig]]
|{{Flag|Pakistan}}
|January 1, 1959 – December 31, 1961
|-
|[[Abbas Ali Khalatbari]]
|{{Flagcountry|Pahlavi dynasty|1964}}
|January 1962 – January 1968
|-
|Turgut Menemencioğlu
|{{Flag|Turkey}}
|January 1968 – 1 February 1972
|-
|Nasir Assar
|{{Flagcountry|Pahlavi dynasty|1964}}
|February 1, 1972 – January 1975
|-
|[[Ümit Haluk Bayülken]]
|{{Flag|Turkey}}
|January 1975 – August 1, 1977
|-
|Sidar Hasan Mahmud
|{{Flag|Pakistan}}
| August 1977 – March 1978
|-
|[[Kamuran Gürün]]
|{{Flag|Turkey}}
| March 31, 1978 – 1979
|}

==CENTO railway==
{{see also|Van–Sufian railway}}
CENTO sponsored a railway line, some of which was completed, to enable a rail connection between [[London]] and [[Tehran]] via [[Van, Turkey|Van]]. A [[Van–Sufian railway|section]] from [[Lake Van]] in Turkey to [[Sharafkhaneh]] in Iran was completed and funded in large part by CENTO (mainly the UK). The civil engineering was especially challenging because of the difficult terrain. Part of the route included a rail ferry across Lake Van with a terminal at [[Tatvan]] on the Western side of the lake. Notable features of the railway on the Iranian side included 125 bridges, among them the [[Ghotour Bridge|Towering Quotor span]], measuring {{convert|1,485|ft}} in length, spanning a gorge {{convert|396|ft|}} deep.<ref>Geneva Times, 15 April 1971. p9 http://fultonhistory.com/Newspaper%2011/Geneva%20NY%20Daily%20Times/Geneva%20NY%20Daily%20Times%201971%20Mar-Apr%201971%20Grayscale/Geneva%20NY%20Daily%20Times%201971%20Mar-Apr%201971%20Grayscale%20-%201035.pdf</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last= |first= |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qEUYAAAAIAAJ |title=Along the Path of a CENTO Railway: A Narrative with Text and Photographs Telling how Iran and Turkey, with the Support of CENTO Associates, are Repeating History by Linking Their Countries with a Modern Railway |date=1960 |publisher=Central Treaty Organization, Public Relations Division |language=en}}</ref>

==Cultural and research institutions==
Like its counterparts NATO and SEATO, CENTO sponsored a number of cultural and scientific research institutions:
* CENTO Conferences on Teaching Public Health and Public Health Practice<ref>Kashani-Sabet, Firoozeh. OUP (2011) Conceiving Citizens: Women and the Politics of Motherhood in Iran. p. 291.</ref>
* CENTO Cultural Works Programme <ref>
See, for example, in "Solo exhibitions": http://www.bengalfoundation.org/old/index.php?view=artist/ArtistProfile.php&artistID=100&page=5 {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170321165257/http://www.bengalfoundation.org/old/index.php?view=artist%2FArtistProfile.php&artistID=100&page=5 |date=2017-03-21 }}
</ref>
* CENTO Institute of Nuclear & Applied Science
* CENTO Scientific Coordinating Board<ref>{{cite web |title=Video: Sadik Kakaç, 2013 Honorary Membership |url=https://www.asme.org/topics-resources/content/Video-Sadik-Kakac-2013-Honorary-Membership |access-date=2023-08-31 |website=www.asme.org |language=en}}</ref>
* CENTO Scientific Council
* CENTO Symposia on Rural Development<ref>{{cite book|last1=Beeman|first1=William O.|author-link1=William O. Beeman|title=Language, Status, and Power in Iran|date=1986|publisher=[[Indiana University Press]]|page=226|isbn=9780253113184|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9g9LEPIHQz4C|access-date=2017-11-18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201041146/https://books.google.com/books?id=9g9LEPIHQz4C|archive-date=2017-12-01|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Amad|first1=Mohammad Javad|title=Agriculture, Poverty and Reform in Iran|date=2011|publisher=[[Routledge]]|isbn=9780415614382|page=172|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_UYGpNW65O8C|access-date=2017-11-18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201032451/https://books.google.com/books?id=_UYGpNW65O8C|archive-date=2017-12-01|url-status=live}}</ref>

The institutions supported a wide range of non-military activities, with a particular focus on agriculture and development, In 1960, for example, CENTO had funded 37 projects covering agriculture, education, health, economic development and transportation.<ref>CIA memorandum, released under US Freedom of Information provisions. "EIGHTH CENTO MINISTERIAL COUNCIL SESSION TEHRAN, APRIL 28-30, 1960 U.S. POSITION ON THE TURKISH- IRANIAN RAILWAY LINK".  http://www.foia.cia.gov/document/eighth-cento-ministerial-council-session-tehran-april-28-30-1960-us-position-turkish {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150618215317/http://www.foia.cia.gov/document/eighth-cento-ministerial-council-session-tehran-april-28-30-1960-us-position-turkish |date=2015-06-18 }} 
</ref> It also arranged at least one symposium on the problem of [[foot-and-mouth disease|foot-and-mouth]] and [[rinderpest]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vz8aAAAAYAAJ|title=CENTO Seminar on the Control and Eradication of Viral Diseases in the CENTO Region: With Special Emphasis on Foot-and-mouth Disease and Rinderpest and Renderpest-like Diseases; [papers|first=Mary Margaret|last=Lawrence|date=21 September 1973|publisher=Central Treaty Organization|via=Google Books}}</ref>

The organization that became the CENTO Institute of Nuclear Science was established by Western powers in the Baghdad Pact, as CENTO was then known.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A8C3m8rRba4C&q=CENTO+nuclear+research+center+-centos&pg=PA534|title=Science, Technology, and Society|via=Google Books|isbn=9780195141931|year=1982|last1=Restivo|first1=Sal P.|publisher=Oxford University Press }}</ref> It was initially located in [[Baghdad]], [[Iraq]], but was relocated to [[Tehran]], [[Iran]] in 1958 after Iraq withdrew from CENTO.<ref>Sahimi, M. Website. "Iran's Nuclear Energy Program. Part V: From the United States Offering Iran Uranium Enrichment Technology to Suggestions for Creating Catastrophic Industrial Failure". http://www.payvand.com/news/04/dec/1186.html {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150907174548/http://www.payvand.com/news/04/dec/1186.html |date=2015-09-07 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=61ODaAcFA-EC&q=CENTO+nuclear+research+center+-centos&pg=PA22|title=Iran and Nuclear Weapons|first=Tamra B.|last=Orr|date=15 August 2009|publisher=The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc|via=Google Books|isbn=9781435852815}}</ref> Students from Pakistan and Turkey as well as those from Iran were trained at the Institute.<ref>
Entessar, Nader. Middle East Policy Council website. "Iran's Nuclear Decision-Making Calculus". http://www.mepc.org/journal/middle-east-policy-archives/irans-nuclear-decision-making-calculus?print {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150618202713/http://www.mepc.org/journal/middle-east-policy-archives/irans-nuclear-decision-making-calculus?print |date=2015-06-18 }}
</ref>

===CENTO Scientific Council===
The CENTO Scientific Council organized a number of scientific symposia and other events, including a meeting in [[Lahore]], Pakistan, in 1962, entitled "The Role of Science in the Development of Natural Resources with Particular Reference to Pakistan, Iran and Turkey".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Smith |first=M. L. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g-xsBQAAQBAJ&q=CENTO+Institute+of+Nuclear+%26+Applied+Science+-centos |title=The Role of Science in the Development of Natural Resources with Particular Reference to Pakistan, Iran and Turkey: A Symposium Held Under the Auspices of the CENTO Scientific Council, Lahore, January, 1962 |date=2013-10-22 |publisher=Elsevier |isbn=978-1-4831-8518-7 |language=en}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[ANZUS]]
* [[Arab–Israeli alliance]]
* [[Balkan Pact (1953)]]
* [[Economic Cooperation Organization]]
* [[Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance]]
* [[Islamic Military Counter Terrorism Coalition]] (IMCTC)
* [[NATO]]
* [[Regional Cooperation for Development]]
* [[Southeast Asia Treaty Organization]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}
* {{cite book|last=Lee |first=Sir David |title=Wings in the sun: a history of the Royal Air Force in the Mediterranean, 1945–1986 |publisher=Air Force Dept. Air Historical Branch, Great Britain. Her Majesty's Stationery Office |date=1989}}

==Further reading==
* Cohen, Michael J. "From ‘Cold’ to ‘Hot’ War: Allied Strategic and Military Interests in the Middle East after the Second World War." ''Middle Eastern Studies'' 43.5 (2007): 725–748.
* Hashmi, Sohail H. "‘Zero Plus Zero Plus Zero’: Pakistan, the Baghdad Pact, and the Suez Crisis." ''International History Review'' 33.3 (2011): 525–544. 
* Jalal, Ayesha. "Towards the Baghdad Pact: South Asia and Middle East Defence in the Cold War, 1947–1955." ''International History Review'' 11.3 (1989): 409–433.
* Kuniholm, Bruce R. ''The origins of the Cold War in the Near East: Great power conflict and diplomacy in Iran, Turkey, and Greece'' (Princeton University Press, 2014).
* Podeh, Elie. ''The quest for hegemony in the Arab world: The struggle over the Baghdad Pact'' (Brill, 1995).
* Yesilbursa, Behcet Kemal. ''The Baghdad Pact: Anglo-American Defence Policies in the Middle East, 1950–59'' (2003). [https://www.amazon.com/Baghdad-Pact-Anglo-American-Yesilbursa-2013-12-14/dp/B01F9R4BWQ/ Excerpt.]

==External links==
* {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20071009203740/http://www.iranica.com/newsite/articles/v5f3/v5f3a003.html Central Treaty Organization (CENTO)]}} entry in ''[[Encyclopaedia Iranica]]'' (archived)
* {{Internet Archive film clip|id=1958-01-30_Baghdad_pact|description="Baghdad pact. Unified Military Command Seen, 1958/01/30 (1958)"}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20111224041218/http://history.state.gov/milestones/1953-1960/CENTO CENTO] on the US State Department's website (archived)

{{Cold War}}
{{Authority control}}

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