The Dhofar War as a Documentary: An Analysis of ‘Britain's Other War’ (1972)

The Dhofar insurgency (1963–1976) is one of the forgotten conflicts of post-1945 Middle Eastern history, and throughout this war the United Kingdom provided military assistance to the Sultan's Armed Forces of Oman. The Thames TV documentary series This Week provided a rare contemporary report on Dhofar with its December 1972 film ‘Britain's Other War’. This article examines the making of this documentary and its findings, concluding that although ‘Britain's Other War’ had gaps in its coverage, it presented an accurate appraisal of the nature of the Dhofar conflict and the UK's role in aiding the Omani royal regime.