Ashburton Guardian Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit TUESDAY, MAY 20, 1941. IMPORTANCE OF IRAQ.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 61, Issue 185, 20 May 1941, Page 4

Ashburton Guardian Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit TUESDAY, MAY 20, 1941. IMPORTANCE OF IRAQ.

The inroad by Germans into Syria as part of an advance into Iraq is of vital importance in view of the geographical situation of the latter country.’ The prize is no less than possession of the land bridge connecting the three continents of the land hemisphere of the world. From this central position the peninsula of Europe juts out to the west, the immensities of Asia extend far into the east, while the enormous pendant of Africa drops into the south. Here, therefore, is the land focus of the world, and one of its greatest strategic centres. The usurpation of power by Rashid Ali, a pro-German, followed by violation of the treaty of perpetual peace and amity concluded between Britain and Iraq in 1930, has developed a grave weakness in Britain’s position in that vital region, creating a menace to the master key of the situation, Suez. Thus it is that Britain and the United States take such a serious view of the action of France in allowing Germany to.use Syria in prosecution of her designs against the democracies. Another reason for prompt action in preventing the Germans gaining a foothold in Asia is that Iraq and Syria lie on Turkey’s flank and rear. Ankara has already to withstand German pressure on the Black Sea, in Thrace and on the Aegean. If she is to hold firm, if she is to continue to deny the passage of German forces across her territory, she must be assured that her south-east-ern frontiers are secure in British hands. Another British interest in the integrity of Iraq and Syria arises through her guardianship of India, whose concern in the destinies of the overland route and the Persian Gulf has always been primary. Finally there is the. question of oil. The Iraq fields are convenient but not vital to the British campaign in the Middle East. On the other hand, it is vital to deny their resources to the Axis. Hitler has a tough nut to crack in the Middle East. His advance has been described as a pincer movement' on Suez, but apart from the incursion into Syria, the northern prong still tarries 1200 miles short of Suez. Given Turkish fidelity to treaty engagements, no rapid development can be expected on this flank. The thrust by the southern prong depends on a precarious sea line of communications, the strict limits of air transport, and 1200 miles of coastal road that can be dominated for most of its length by British naval guns. If this were not enough, the southern prorig must be thrust across 350 miles of desert before reaching Alexandria and overcome the growing strength, of the Army of the Nile, newly reinforced by troops and aircraft back from the Balkans or. released by the sweeping successes in East Africa.