Egypt's Role
Anglo-Egyptian relations, said a special correspondent of The Times at Cairo in Wednesday's issue of that journal, have never been better than they are today, in the week of the fourth anniversary of the signature of the Anglo-Egyptian treaty. That is a very satisfactory statement, and there is every evidence that it is justified. Egypt is showing a wholesome disregard of the Italian threats which are being scattered with the usual lavish sweeps of Signor Gayda's irresponsible pen, her Prime Minister has stated definitely that his country would resist by every means any infringement of her territory by Italian troops, and Egyptian forces are already in line with British on the frontier. It has been emphasised repeatedly that Great Britain has never sought to drag Egypt into war, but no one could believe that Egypt would readily exchange affiance with Britain for domination by Italy, and recent demonstrations of British superiority by sea and air have, in spite of any depression the evacuation of British Somaliland may have caused, considerably reinforced Egypt's confidence in the ability of her own forces and the British to repel attack. Marshal Graziani's repeatedly threatened offensive from Libya still hangs fire, and there can be no question that his plans have been seriously deranged, perhaps permanently, by the activity of the Navy and the Royal Air Force against his base at Bardia. Neither the sailors nor the airmen have said their last word yet, and there are abundant signs that the British Cabinet is fully alive to the importance of striking hard at Italy wherever she can be reached, at Bardia and Bomba as well as at Milan and Turin.
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