Evening star., 1941-08-22
This Changing World
Wars Shadow Being Cast Over Turkey, With
Decision at Hand to Join Nozs or Brtoin

900 British and imperial troops in
Egypt and the Middle East. The
occupation of Syria will greatly
facilitate the British operations.
They are now Turkeys next-door
neighbors. 1t is believed that an
important part of reinforce
ments sent to the Middle East
during the last eight weeks have
been distributed from the Turk
ish-Syrian border to the Iranian
frontier and nothing stands now
in the way of a junction of the
Turkish Army in Asia and the
British forces. To these could
be added the forces of Russia's
southern armies under Marshal
Budenny.
Turkeys Army Good.
Military experts believe that
even if this army is defeated, it
would have enough force left to
retire to the Caucasus and at
tempt a stand there. Thus, while
the British could do little to save
European Turkey, they could be
of material assistance in Asia.
The Anatolian plains, lacking
adequate arteries of communica-
tions, are an ideal defensive
ground. From large stores the
British now have in the Middle
East, the Turks could be supplied
in their effort to ward off Ger
man attacks against the ports of
Trebizond and Samsun.
The Turkish Army is good. 1t
lacks airplanes and tanks, and
this would have been an unsur-
mountable obstacle TO their op-
position to Germany a few
months ago. But the British
have large air force in the Mid
die East. This air force will be
strengthened by American planes
which will be ferried across the
Atlantic TO Bathurst. Thence,
they can fly unhampered to
Khartum and hop across the Red
Sea TO Palestine. There is plenty
of oil in Iraq and it is assumed
that the British have established
reflnerles to produce the neces-
sary gasoline for their aviation.
:anks and motor transports. The
latter are of paramount impor-
tance in region like the Middle
East and Anatolia, where rail-
ways exist only in name.
Thus from the military point of
view, the chances of Turkey
maintaining its national existence
by Joining Britain appear more
favorable than if they joined the
Reich.
But this is not the general
opinion of all Turkish leaders. 1t
is believed that President Ismet
Inonu, who fought on the side of
the Germans during the last
war, is in full sympathy this time
with the idea of joining the
British. He thinks, like his pre-
deceSsor and father of modern
Turkey, Kemal Attaturk, that the
independence of a nation is more
important than its territorial ex-
pansion.
There are others. especially in
the army, who think differently.
however. The Germans are said
TO have promised the Turks large
slices of Russia and Iraq in ex-
change for their collaborati ton.
The Ankara government is being
told now, as the Rumanians and
the Bulgarians in the past, that
they need not fight. They will
get a sizable part of the loot if
they only permit Germans troops
to use Turkeys territory for the
war against Britain. They are
being told, like the rest of the
European nations, that Britain
and the United States stand in
the way of peace and if Britain
is defeated the new order" will
replace the old capitalistic system
and Turkey, together with the
other nations of the world, will
live on in eternal happiness.
Nobody knows now which way
Turkey will jump.