Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1942-12-25
Wants ItoIy Won
By Force of Ideas
Writer Argues for Effort
To Conquer ltoIions
Through Understanding

To Conquer Italians
Through Understanding
| To the Editor Of The Star:
Maj. Gen. j. N. Greely in The Star of
December % presents the military point
OF view relative to Italy as theater of
| operations, addressing himself to the
problem primarily in terms of "the west
coast of Italy as offering the best facili-
ties for an attack from Northwest
Africa" with special reference to land
ing operations, air superiority the fer
tility and industrial facilities of the val
ley OF the Pc, the advantages of the
naval bases at Trieste and Leghorn, the
port facilities at Naples and Genoa, and
the resistance of the natural northern
mountain barriers cutting Italy of from
the rest of Europe. In military terms
the occupation of the valley of the Pc
would cut of Germany from Italy at
one stroke of the sword and make the
conquest Of Italy merely hopping up
on grand scale" He says, I'VE know
that the harbors and beaches ION the
western Shore) will be defended" and
he is convinced that seizure of Naples,
Rome or Leghorn would be an achieve
ment." Emphasis is placed upon the
Importance to the United Nations of
any base which might be established in
the valley of the Pc, from which armies
could move either east or west, thanking
actions east from the head of the Adri-
attic to the heart of German Austria,
and west up the Rhone into France
1t is true that Gen. Greedy suggests
that perhaps Italy need not be con-
quered by the sword and that IAN AEF
which got as far as Milan probably
would find that part of the road to
victory strewn with flowers instead of
chevaux de frise." But in dozen para
graphs there occurs no further sugges-
ton as to means to be used, other than
force, in dealing with the conquest of
the peninsula which has nurtured the
traditions of the ancient lawgivers, the
medieval popes, the Renaissance artists
and philosophers, and the Risorgimento
patriots.
The Italian people, however, did not
of their conquest than by the sword.
The time has come for American under
standing of the true sentiments of the
Italian people. The statements of As
siStant Secretary of State Berle, Attorney
General Biddle and Mayor La Guardia
on Columbus Day, October II, and the
statements of other leading citizens, both
before and cincp fhot Iafo
tributing to development of the neces-
sary understanding. But now, before
we strike fire and create the horror of
revolution resulting from false move,
we must understand that if we go on
bombing and still fail to give the Italians
what to them is satisfactory under
standing of the kind of future they are
to expect any revolt that occurs may
lack the active group leadership capable
of organizing revolt into effective re-
sistance
Mr.. Berle, speaking on November IA
before meeting of leaders in the Free
Italian Movement, pledged both mill
tary and economic aid to Italy and called
upon the people to overthrow the Fascist
ASSAAiAS, oo ll6 Vic dIUllSS uIlQST
the American flag are armies for the
liberation of Italy" but submitting as an
alternative that until the Fascist domi-
nation of Italy is ended = there
can be no valid dealing save by force
alone"
Likewise, Prime Minister Winston
Churchill on November % told the Ital-
ian people it was for them to say whether
they wanted "the whole of the south of
Italy. all the naval bases, all the mu-
milton establishments brought
under prolonged, scientific and shatter-
ing air attack
But the persistence of fatigue and
bleak resignation in the face of threats
and terrorism indicates some radical
failure Of democratic promises of succor
and liberation. These promises have not
inspired properly organized and care
fully engineered revolt against Fascism,
rationing, bombing and political black
mail.
Now the United Nations have the
site strategies: On the one hand to march
an AEF through Italy in the manner
depicted by Gen. Greedy, using the pc
ninsula "as base in the valley of the
Pc = = to be attacked from Northwest
Africa" or, on the other hand to ade-
quately propaganda and implement the
landing in Italy of an AEF which prop
erly recognizes that food is great
weapon in the hands of the United Ma
tons, an AEF which upon reaching
Sicily, Naples, Rome and the valley of
the Pc will implement Mr.. Lehman's
| policy of giving to the people uncondi-
tional assurance that we can extend
help to them in their dire need and that
they are to understand that the shaking
off of the Nazi domination will mean
that they will not be made dependent
on their own resources but will be given
the necessaries of life to keep body and
soul together"
Then, going a step further, one VEN
lures to suggest and sincerely to hope
that in organizing the colossal work of
relief and rehabilitation which lies be-
fore us, in Italy, as in other countries OF
Europe, two far-reaching but often neg
lected aspects of the problem will be
intrusted to highly qualified specialists:
First, the fitting of the work of relief
into the ethnic character structure of the
italian individual and the culture pat
tern of the Italian people, and, second,
the migrating of the work of relief with
the religious institutions of the country