Evening star., 1923-01-28
RULE OF THE NEAR EAST
MUST BE DETERMINED
Turkish-B British Friction Will Continue
i Indefinitely Without Test, Which,
+ Seemingly, Is at Hand.


gion now share to some measure in
application Of the self definition of
peoples. in that they have repeatedly
expressed their desire for and are now
Incorporated in the kingdom of Irak
under the rule of King Feisal. The
Mosul region long has been identified
historically and politically with the
Arabs who have dominated Bagdad.
In the vilayet Of Mosul there are
Kurds ood 1s5 Arabs 5000 $1,000
Yeszides and $4,000 Jews. The kurds
never have worked in unison with the
Turks. despising them heartily. even
in the war when the British were
campaigning against the & TURKS: sins ine
and except in rare instances where
they were forced under the banners
of the Turks for expediency sake.
gave little comfort to- the sultan
government The Arab element of the
population naturally leans toward
continuation of the age-old dream OF
separate Arab kingdom, while tne
Christian population resents any
scheme designed to throw the vlayee
once more in the hands of the Turks:
Under present conditions the whole
Mesopotamia region is prpsperfns as
! 1t never prospered before, commer
cially and otherwise, and extensiVe
will make the valley of the Tigres
and Euphrates bloom once more.
Many Conflicting Currents.
notwithstanding its advance under
British tuteiage, there are so many
! conflicting currents politically, racial
ly and religiously that the future can
not be even sketched with any de-
gree of accuracy.
1t is known that soviet emissaries
have been working diligently IN re-
cent months to mould sentiment
among all Mohammedan peoples TO-
! ward resistance to British influence.
The nationalist regime In Angora
| already has, established large forces
of troops in the direction Of Irak with
the hope of infiaming the populations
to a point OF resistance citing the.
| fact that chiefly. England desires 10
exploit the peoples OF Mesopatafnia
with the object of self gain.
In manysections surrounding the lrak
British forces have had trouble from
/ time to time and particularly IN tne
direction of Afghanistan and Persia,
where soviet agents. have been the
| busiest In addition to this IT is
known that several sheiks, powerful
| factors in the life of the kingdom
| of Irak, which are chafing at the
restraints placed upon them through
declaring at the moment that tnsE
will further the cause OF the Turks
| in reuniting the old Turkish empire:
| whether or not these agents OF
Angora can be eliminated before 100
much damage has been done Is
question, but in case of an open clash
between the British and Turks the
whole region of Mesopotamia wouid
be the scene Of extremely interest
ing events.
British Military Position.
1t is gravely questioned. even in
England, whether or not the British
could long maintain their military
position in Mesopotamia without far
reaching reverses. Particularly
would this be true early in any cam
paien for the maintenance of Feisals s
empire, inasmuch as the BRUSH
forces have been reduced to skeleton
form, the majority OF present opera
tions in troublesome zones being con'
Quoted by airplane contingents, which
would be wholly inadequate in case
Of general conflict. Furthermore Eng
land in case of conflict, would ne
forced to call upon Indian 1orces
and there is question of their re,
liability at the moment in view OF
the antagonistic currents running
rampant in India during the past Two
years.
r,an hest understands the temper or
the Mahommedan peoples he having
once served as viceroy OF INDIA anu
I he, above everything else, Is aware
Of the fact that Britain has gone
TOO far now in her deliberations and
ultinlatums to the Turks to withdraw.
such action would seriously endanger
British prestige. which Is more I'M.
portant than the maintenance OF
tremendous military forces In con-
trolling the vast dominions OF the
east.
and IL the allies on next Meanesday
present their ultimatum treaty terms
to the Turks and they are resisted,
then Britain must expect to maintain
her position by the force or arms
II is known that plans already are
under way in Angora looking to wide
spread incursion in the direction OF
Irak and india
Though the British perhaps. Tor
the sake of peace. would permit the
situation to drift, Turkish actions
planned Immediately following the
breakdown Of the Lausanne parley
will not permit Of inaction. Though
other powers might intercede as be-
tween the British and the Turks, Lon
don recognizes the fact that this In
tercession can result in but little
as the ambitions and purposes OF
both the British and Turks are too
far apart to; ever permit Of agree
ment without leaving the whole near
east question q running sore.
with opinion Of contending peoples
so far apart, there is little hope or
eventual peaceful adjustment.