BRITISH IN MESOPOTAMIA.

Taranaki Daily News, 13 May 1920, Page 10

BRITISH IN MESOPOTAMIA.

FOUNDATIONS OF PROSPERITY. London, April 12. Recent comments by Mr. Winston Churchill, Secretary of State for War, on the situation In Mesopotamia, during the recent debate on the army estimates, especially his loose reference to our "marching about the country holding down the people by military force," has aroused the resentment of the loyal administrators.

The correspondent of the Times at Bagdad takes up the cudgels on behalf of the authorities, and states that the situation is radically misapprehended in London.

Two weak divisions are expected to control 150,000 square miles of country, populated by 2,750,000 well-armed and sophisticated natives, accustomed to organised governments for two ecnturics. Tlio frontiers of this area consist of Arabia, Kurdistan, Turkey, and the Persian mountains, all historic homes of disorder.

The British authorities have* undertaken only three slight military operations since the armistice. Otherwise tliey have been busy laying the foundations of native self-government and Rchieving substantial success against Bolshevism.

Other pressing dangers largely arise from the intolerable delay in making pvace with Turkey.

Speaking in the House of Commons during the debate on the Army Estimates on March 23, Mr. Winston Churchill declared that the situation in the Middle East was acute, and required the maintenance of strong forces there. He hoped that it "would be possible to effect economy by holding Mesopotamia by air rather than by military forces, and advocated for Mesopotamia the methods which were successful in West Africa, where British political influence gradually permeated the whole country and brought great areas under successful control. Mr. Churchill remarked that lie was not prepared to propose that we should march about Mesopotamia holding the people down by. military force, nor had ho ever pretended that when we received a mandate we should immediately occupy and dominate every square mile of tlio country on the first .clay- Other methods must be devised if we were to [continue to keep Mesopotamia.