August 10, 1954
CYPRUS AND NATO: (From an editorial titled «Proposal»): «…The main argument put forward by the British for their decision to keep Cyprus is its strategic importance. They say they need it as a base now that they have abandoned Suez. They also say, or rather they try to convince the Americans, if they haven’t already done so, that Cyprus would be an important defense line for the entire Atlantic defense doctrine in the eastern Mediterranean. If this is the only reason; that is, if Britain’s insistence is based on strategic needs, and if the question of collective Atlantic defense is of interest to all the partners in the Atlantic Alliance, then let the issue of Cyprus be raised in NATO as a purely military issue. Let Britain’s defense needs be analyzed there. Let all the strategic possibilities offered by an annexation of Cyprus by Greece be studied – since Greece is a member of the same alliance – and let Greece be required to provide whatever guarantees necessary to secure the island as a military base for the defense of the West. Greece, as has often been stated, is willing to provide whatever facilities are necessary in aid of the common goal.»
