Evening star., 1941-04-17
Protecting U. S. FIonks
PortusoIs Possessions May Be Needed by America
If Atlantic Becomes Theuter Of Fleet Operations

so that, IN cooperation with Brit
ish, Dutch and Australian forces,
the Japanese would be faced with
greater risk than any reasonable
Japanese officer would care to ad-
wise his government to assume. The
great thing is to make it clear to
the Japanese that we are not only
prepared to fight any fresh aggres-
sion, but have the will to fight; that
any "Step-by-s step" policy of small
advances will meet immediate re-
Sistance, not after a long series of
aggressions have given the Jap
anese further priceless positions, but
at the first sign of aggression.
We have next security problem
to be dealt with in West Africa. The
Germans are adept at making flank
direct assault for the indirect meth
cd which strikes with strength
against weakness, which diverts,
weakens and undermines. If we en-
gagged in North Atlantic operations,
they would seek to divert us in the
South Atlantic. For this purpose,
they would need bases, and these
bases could only be located in some
Of the Atlantic islands or on the
West Coast of Africa within reach
of the German land-air power.
They lack the mobility which COM
mand of the sea confers, and can
use only such bases as they can
reach and supply by land.
Two Requirements.
Our requirements, therefore, are
% so to strengthen, by supplies
and other means, the British in
their West African positions and
the Free French in Equatorial
Africa, as well as the Belgians in
the Congo, that there can be no
chance of the axis pushing into any
of these areas. 90 to make GER
tain that no other West African
position becomes available to the
Germans. These remaining posi-
tions are either in the hands of the
French government OF Vichy or of
Portugal or Spain.
It does not seem impossible that
some arrangement could be arrived
at by which the United States, per-
haps with the participation OF
Brazil, could enter into an agree
ment assuring the military safety
of the Portuguese colonial empire,
an arrangement similar to that al
ready reached with regard to Green
land. OF course, the Germans
would threaten Portugal with direct
attack, but Germany is hardly anx-
ious for fresh military adventures
at the time and would be less so
were we to be active in the North
Atlantic. In any case. Germany
will attack Portugal when 1t is TO
Germany's interest to do so, quite
regardless of whether Portugal's
previous attitude has or has not
been correct" in the Wilhelm
strasse sense of that word. An ar
rangement of this sort with Portugal
would not only give us positions IN
the Azores and Cape Verde Islands,
but also in Portuguese Guinea on
Africa's western bulge.
This procedure might present
diplomatic difficulties, Of course.
There Is an alternative which it is
necessary to keep in mind, and that
Is an outright occupation, by force
If necessary, of the French base Of
Dakar. This would be as much
preventive measure as anything
else. We cannot afford to allow the
well-developed and equipped har-
Dor and naval base at Dakar to be-
come a German point of support,
no matter what the diplomatic
niceties would seem to demand of
us. Protected on the north by the
wide expanse of the Sahara and
really accessible only by sea, Dakar
is quite likely to be held fast by the
first conner. We must be the first
conner if the Germans seem to
threaten any lodgment there.
1t is only by thus securing our
f1anks and rear that we may hope