Evening star., 1941-05-17
Mandate or Trup?

Syria is today the cruX OF the MILL
tary situation in the Near East. 1t
was not even mentioned in Marshal
Petain's address to the French people
nor in any other official communique
of the Vichy government, yet Syria
undoubtedly figures in the main con-
cesSions made by Admiral Darlan to
Hitler in their recent negotiations.
Syria is at once a stepping stone
and a base for German military
operations in the Near East. 1t is
clear that this highly strategic
country is rapidly passing under
German control with the full con-
nivanoe of the local French authori-
ties, presumably under instructions
from Vichy. Once firmly established
there, the Germans not only could
directly support the Iraqis but could
also threaten a drive through Pales-
tine to Egypt and the Suez Canal.
And they could do all this without
passing through Turkey-given time
CllOuSlI W u cJoI 4l1Cll d1ld llld
terials by air or by ships sailing in
Turkish territorial waters.
The deadly threat to Britain's po-
sition in the Near East is fully ap-
preciated in London, and the British
government has promised to take
vigorous preventive measures. Their
legal justification, without the neces-
sity of formal hostilities against
France itself, possibly could be found
in the anomalous nature of Franco
Syrian relations.
Syria is not technically part of the
French colonial empire. It was as
signed to France after the Great War
as mandate from the newly eStab-
lished League of Nations, the original
idea being that Syria should ulti-
mately become independent after
| French guidance had fitted it for full
sovereignty. French rule, however,
has been imperialiStic in character
and has not won the loyalty of the
/ inhabitants. The vast majority
would like to see the end of French
rule, which is maintained solely by
French army, today reduced to
about $4,000 men demoralized in
spirit and probably incapable of re-
sisting a determined British offensive
from Palestine.
The position of France in Syria
has been rendered even more pre-
/ carious through Frances recent
resignation from the League. Tech
nically, two years must elapse before
the resignation can have full effect,
but Frances fagrantly unneutral
conduct in allowing German use of
/ its airfieldS and other facilities re-
veals her dereliction of duty as the
holder of the mandate and her un-
fitness to hold it during the interim
period There are strong indications
that Britain contemplates stern re-
taliatory action. Foreign Secretary
Eden first announced that France
could not escape responsibility for
her actions in Syria. Later on, in
response to a suggestion from the
floor of the House of Commons that
since France had left the League her
Syrian mandate had expired, Mr..
Eden replied significantly: There is
force in the honorable gentlemans
suggestion"
Unless Britai1'S military position
in the Near East is much weaker
than is generally believed, it is ex-
tremely unlikely that the Germans
will be allowed unhindered to close
their grip on Syria. Already the
British government has given the
Royal Air Force a free hand in
bombing Syrian airdromes harboring
German planes. But something
more than bombings would seem to
be needed in order to scotch this
German threat. The chances are,
therefore, that the next few days will
see Syria the center of military op-
erations in which the British and
German forces will come to direct
grips. With the Luftwaffe launching
heavy air attacks on Crete and
Cyprus, Britain's island bulwarks
against a mass German invasion of
Syria, another great campaign soon