The Wilmington morning star., 1946-09-06

peace.
The fifth point in the Soviet
demands is the crucial point: the
Soviets are asking Turkey to agree
to let them establish themselves
as a military power at the OAR
danelles for purposes "of joint
defense" Now, this demand has
nothing whatsoever to do. with
Russia's ancient and legitimate
desire fo- assured access to the
open sea. For Russian troops and
airplaaes stationed in Turkey.
cannot assure Russia access to the
sea.
In the two world war Germany
closed the Dardanelles and bot
tied up Russia in the Black Sea by
coming overland through the Bal
kaas. The Russian defense against
that is to halt the Germans before
they can enter the Balkans. The
defense of the straits against Ge--
many, if that were what worries
the Russians, has to be made on
the Danube and beyond.
But that is quite plainly not
what worries the Russians now.
They have secured themselves
against Germany by their Balkan
and central European alliances,
and they are r%einsuring them
selves, as MI. Molotov's declara-
ton in July made only too Nain,
by bidding for an eventual ali
ance with Germany. The p-ob-
lem Of the Dardanelles is, there
fore, not the problem of opening
them. If it were, Moscow would
beg the United States to join
them in guaranteeing the Oar
|danelles. For the D%ardanelles
will not be open unless they are
kept open at both ends.
!, The Russians preoccupatioa
now is not how to keep the OAR
danelles open but how to close
them. That is perfectly plain in
all their demands. Close them to
whom? There is no Doubt as to
the answer: to the Anglo-Ame--
leans, the only powers capable Of
! passing through the Dardanelles
: in force and Of entering the Black
Sea. The Russian view is clear:
. it is that unless they control
Turkey, its government and its
army, Britain and America will, in
case OF war, not only use the Oar
daneles to enter the Black Sea
with their enormously p%reponder-
ant fleets but they will use the
northern coasts Of Turkey on the
Black Sea as a base for aerial
and amphibian attacks on what is
the soft underbelly OF the Soviet
Union.
The Russian demands on Tur-
key show that the Kremlin knows
that this is the vulnerable spot
here the Ukraine, politically the
least reliable of the Soviet repub-
lies, can be reached, he-e the oil,
the coal, and much of the food
supply of the Soviet Union are
within easy range.
This, then, is the place whfe
the issue can best be resolved, and
an equilibrium of power restored.
Here in the eastern Mediterran-
can, behind and near Turkey, is
the place where the United States,
by building up its sea and air
power, can most surely compel and
induce the Kremlin to negotiate
a general wo-ld settlement.
There is no denying that in ad-
dition to the risk Of a violent Rus
sian reaction, there is the risk
that here and in Britain there will
be important influences moving
heaven and earth to convert the
policy Of restoring the balance OF
power into an anti-Soviet crusade.
There is no doubt that we a-e
playing with fire, and that this
risk must be taken into account.
For this is not a policy which can
not fail. This is frankly a policy
of calculated risk.
The risk must, it seems to me,
be seen clearly and then accepted,
For we are in a vicious circle thai
must soon be broken or we shall
later on be drawn into a war o.
humiliation. Only a balance o.
power can end the struggle fol
power: only when Soviet and
American power confront each
Eother directly at a decisive point
will statesmen and people accept
the fact that the two systems, the
two civilizations, must live in the
same world because neither car
%obliterate the other.
For I believe, indeed I have no
doubt, that it has been the weak
ness and peril of Britain, and
nothing worse, which account for
so much of recent British policy
that is so hard for the ancient
friends Of Britain to explain and
defend.
copyright, 1916. New York Tribune Inc.
There are about 300, 1000 regis
tered nurses in the United States.