The Wilmington morning star., 1940-08-28
Editorial Comments
From Other Angles
ITALY'S DIPLOMATIC CAMPAIGN
N. Y. Herald Tribune

The grim preparations of the Italian armies
in Albania for the invasion of Greece are. be-
ing pushed steadily forward, but there is a
rising doubt as to whether any such attack
( could be limited to an affair between the two
nations, and whether once trouble broke out
in the lower portion of the Balkan Peninsula
it might not swiftly spread and involve, other
nations. Greece was one Of the countries that
was given a British guaranty against invasion
last year. Furthermore, Greece has an iron.
clad military alliance with Turkey, m a d e
against just such an attack on the part of
Italy as that which is preparing. There have
been reports too that Soviet Russia has en-.
tered the picture, while from Athens and Der.
lin come indications that Gen. Metaxas has
appealed for help from Germany. Even Bull
garia, which has just received Dobruja from
Rumania, is interested in any division of
Greece which might make possible the return
of Thrace and the old Bulgarian outlet to the
Aegean Sea.
The Italian government must move slowly.
then, and feel out its ground, not because of
possible resistance from the poorly armed
Greek Army, but because the conflict might
break out at a dozen different points and dis
turb the whole plans of the axis powers in
their attack on the British Empire. Further.
more, the aims of Italy and Germany in south.
eastern Europe are patiently not those Of the
Soviet Union. The areas which the three ma.
tons wish to control overlap. Germany and
Italy have an interest in keeping the Balkans
moderately quiet during the process of re-
constructing the frontiers, while the Soviet
Union may wish to stir up trouble with the
idea that it might be able to profit in the
scramble that would inevitably follow. If Italy
became involved in a war with Greece and
Turkey, the Soviet Union might very well
| seize the opportunity to force its demands on
Turkey for concessions along the Turkish-So-
Wet border, and perhaps take the first step
toward the old dream of the Russian cars,
the establishment Of Russian control over the
Dardanelles.
Consequently, the road. into his latest adj
venture is not one that Premier Mussolini can
follow without consulting both Berlin and Mos.
cow at every step. Diplomatic negotiations
must be complete before troops can be moved,
for even at best there are unknown factors
that may enter the picture. Great Britain
may give Greece some support, and Italy can
not risk having Turkish aid added to Greek
and British resistance along the road to Salo-
nika. Chancellor Hitler already has one Bal
kan problem on his hands in the attempted
settlement Of the Hungarian umanian dis
pute. He can hardly wish to risk having the
whole Balkan Peninsula become a battlefield
as winter approaches and the end of the war
is not in sight. Valuable food supplies and
raw materials would be lost, and any Nazi
hope of an attack on the British Isles might
have to be postponed until spring, if the fight
be a diplomatic one, and only after this phase
has been completed can Italian troops move
safely over the Albanian frontiers to take for
territories, ports and islands that Italy may
need to strengthen its hold on the eastern
Mediterranean. l