MOROCCO AGAIN
AS we ventured to prophesy some months ago, the young Moorish leader, Abdel Krim, is proving himself a man to be reckoned with. About a fortnight ago his scouts began to trickle into the French Moroccan Protectorate north of Fez, creeping between the fortified posts. Once there they began to spread propaganda among the local tribes and organize them against the French. When all was ready the tribes rose, contingents of Abdel Krim's regular army appeared from over the frontier, the fortified posts were isolated, and the French found themselves no longer in occupation of a strip of country about 30 to 40 miles deep between the river Wergha and what was the Spanish frontier, and is now the Rif frontier. But Abdel Krim is finding, and will find still more, that the French are not the Spanish, nor Marshal Lyautey the Marquis de Estella. Mobile columns under General Colombat were set going at once and the Rifis were strongly counter-attacked. At the moment the French have succeeded in driving back the Rifis for some distance, although four French posts remain isolated. Abdel Krim's men have now, it seems, dug themselves in and are waiting a new French attack. This, M. Painleve, the French Prime Minister, announced, will not be delivered for some days, pending the arrival of reinforcements from Algiers and from France. This is the record of events. It remains to consider their significance.
It is. not immediately apparent why Abdel Krim, fresh from his great success against the Spaniards, should have been rash-'enough to try conclusions with the French. Why should he not rather have tried to complete his success and round off his triumphs by driving the Span- iards out of Tetuan, -Ceuta and perhaps Melilla ? But the ei Cr well-informed Times correspondent in Morocco gives an explanation. Apparently the • strip of country which Abdel Krim has now invaded was occupied by the French only last year. It is a rich pasture land at the foot of the mountainous Rill country, and sonic of Abdel Krim's' best supporters and warriors who live in the neighbouring hills • depend on this pasture land for - their suPplies. When the French first occupied it, these tribesmen at once asked assistance from Abdel Krim to help them drive out the invaders. At that time Abdel Krim was fully occupied 'harrying the Spanish retreat and he had to put the tribesmen off. Now, however, he has had to do as they wished in order not to forfeit their allegiance. But he is certainly playing a very dangerous game and may bring vast international complications down upon his head.
• The Algeciras settlement has in effect been broken by the Spaniards. When they retreated to Tetuan they virtually admitted their inability to occupy the whole of the zone that had been allotted to them. For, after all, • it is the Spanish retreat which has made Abdel Krim's attack on the French possible. The French Government is full of assurances that it does not mean to break the settlement on its side by following up the Rifis into their own country across the borders of the -late Spanish zone. But there is an undercurrent of talk about " rectifying the frontier," " making the French zone safe from other such -attacks in future," &e. In practice this can mean nothing but an attempt to follow up Abdel Krim into his fastnesses. After all, the French would have a strong case for doing so, for they could always plead that their breach of the settlement had been necessitated by the Spanish failure to live up to their treaty obligations. This, of course, involves Great Britain. ft Was our pressure in the diplomatic struggle at Algeciras which kept the French from extending their zone right up to the South shore of the Mediterranean. At that time we felt that it would be disastrous to have France powerfully placed at Ceuta or Tangier commanding equally with Gibraltar the entrance to the narrow seas. Whether or not such considerations would now be equally potent in British diplomacy is a doubtful question. But it is very possible that the matter will come up once more. Meanwhile we do not altogether envy the French their task of sending a punitive expedition after Abdel Krim—even if they intend nothing more. They will find it is one thing to drive his marauders back out of indisputably French territory and quite another to enter Rifi territory itself.
Abdel Krim is by no means an untutored and irrespon- sible savage, and we cannot help believing that he would be willing to come to terms with the French on a reason- able basis. It may be objected that the French, if they came to an understanding with him, would be " letting down " the Spaniards, but we cannot pretend that we should view another Spanish defeat in Morocco as alto- gether an international disaster. We should regret the blow to Spanish pride and European prestige, but for Spain herself the loss of her Moroccan territory would be the loss of a heavy burden. Her rule in the country round Tetuan has not been wholly successful and arouses a certain sympathy with Abdel Krim and his bold tribes- men. Thus if Abdel Krim were able to turn the Spaniards out of Tetuan and Ceuta it is conceivable that he could set up a stable Arab state on the Southern shore of the: Mediterranean. Such an arrangement might not suit this country ill, and if he could come to a working arrange- ment with the French the p;.-aceful future of Morocco might not be jeopardized.
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