Evening star., 1947-09-21
By John c. Henry
Ssar StoH Sorysspendent

-InlS llttle Med1terranean 1Slano,
which perhaps 50 significantly points
q daggerfke finger toward the
northeast, Is in the process Of be-
coming vital outpost in rough
semicircular line Of defenses for
British and American interests in
the Middle East.
Such a defense line would be a
second one behind Greece and
Turkey where American effort is
now being expended in an attempt
to slow down or to halt completely
the creeping progress of communism
and Soviet influence. This second
ary line as now developing is en-
tirely a British one but would. of
course. be open to American util-
ization If required.
Flexible Line
Roughly, the line is a geographic
shell extending from the head OF the
Persian Gulf in the east to Cire-
naica in the west. Most important
point in the center is probably
Trans jordan where the British have
a, treaty arrangement permitting the
presence of British troops and of
such flexibility that 1t could be ex-
panded to allow a military operation
Of great magnitude. Flanking such
line to the west and affording
reasonable protection for a supply
line into the Eastern Mediterranean
are Malta and Gibraltar. South
easterly down the Persian Gulf are
other fanking footholds covering
the Arabian peninsula.
Those who envision the strategy
of possible third world war are
not deluding themselves in the belief
that this line would be impregnable.
They recognize, instead, that in the
face of long communications and
supply distances an ultimate line OF
defense and counteroffensive might
well be one stretching from French
or British West Africa across Nj
geria, the Equatorial Belt, Sudan
Kenya, Somaliland and anchored in
Alden.
This southernmost barrier would
have the obvious advantage of free
accessibility by sea and air from the
American hemisphere and even in
a conflict of swift air strikes woulo
be so far removed in its centra,
portions as to assure relatively easy
defense. Quite conceivably only
along such q secure springboaro
could the Western powers accumu.
late and activate an oyerpowering
offense against northern aggres-
sion.
Air Network Proven
At each end are the potentially
great ports of Dakar, Takoradi
Lagos, Libreville and Point Noire
on the west coast of Mombasa
Mogadisciom, Djibouti and Alden or
the east. Across the continent is an
air network already created in the
recent war and terrain over which
a supply highway and a railroad
might be built without extraordi-
nary difficult.
The feasibility of this trans
African stretch as an aerial highway
was demonstrated and proven from
1912 to 1945 when thousands of tons
of supplies we're shuttled across the
Southern Atlantic and thence te
the Middle East or India while
thousands of combat aircraft like.
wise moved by the same route into
the front lines. Preliminary sur
veys for overland transport ever
then were being undertaken. A new
beginning on this project is seen ir
the recent announcement of the
British Colonial Office that British
oAAo 1CI1Sh WCcI <114lCdAA SOio1iAOk
have agreed already on plans fol
developing road and rail communi'
cations along the western coast.
Cession Main Issue
Returning to the Middle East line
, probably the most open disclosur,
Of the long g-range British strategic
planning came at the end of Angus
when the British governor of Cy.
prus, Lord Winster, made an I'm.
qualified pronouncement that there
is no present or future intention
of ceding the island colony tt
Greece. The suggestion of such ces
sion has long history, based il
the fact that well over 800, 900 o.
; the islands 10000 inhabitants ar,
: Of Greek ancestry and do in actu'
. ality consider themselves Greeks.
, Agitation for cession Is the para
, mount political issue Of the islane
but 1t Is . many -sided controvers!
complicated by internal considers