1942: Egypt

The position of Egypt was of the greatest military importance during 1942. In a certain sense it may be said that one of the crucial battles for the outcome of the World War II was the battle of the Nile. The late spring of 1942 carried the German-Italian armies under Field Marshal Rommel deep into Egypt. They reached a point, El Alamein, not more than 70 miles from Alexandria, the great Egyptian port at the mouth of the Nile. At that time the Germans hoped that they would be able to conquer Alexandria and Cairo, and thus in control of Egypt and the Suez Canal push on into the interior of Asia, to gain possession of the rich oil wells of the Near East and to achieve a junction with their Japanese allies. This hope was never realized. The British eighth army succeeded in a brilliant campaign not only in driving the Germans out of Egypt but in turning their defeat into a rout. By the end of 1942 Egypt and the Suez Canal, an important life line of the United Nations, seemed stronger than at any other time in the war.

Great Britain and Egyptian Democracy.

Great Britain, which had occupied Egypt in 1882 for strategic reasons, gave Egypt her independence in 1922, and by 1936 all the outstanding questions between the two countries had been cleared up and Great Britain had helped Egypt to gain complete independence and sovereignty. The negotiations between Great Britain and Egypt had been conducted with the Egyptian nationalist party, the Wafd, which represented the overwhelming majority of the Egyptian people and at the same time its democratic aspirations. Thus Britain had gained the loyal support of the Egyptian people. Only a small reactionary group around the court was friendly to Fascism and opposed to Egyptian democracy as well as to Great Britain. The triumph of democracy in Egypt was assured when on Feb. 5, 1942, King Fuad had to call upon Mustafa Pasha Nahas, the leader of the Wafd, to form a Cabinet. Mustafa Nahas became president of the Council of Ministers and assumed at the same time the portfolios of the interior and of foreign affairs. Elections were held March 26, 1942, and returned a Chamber of Deputies in which the Wafd held 216 of the 264 seats. The popularity of Great Britain was especially great in the spring of 1942. That the present Egyptian government means to keep its record straight was shown by the arrest of the former Prime Minister Ali Maher Pasha, a close friend of the King, for reasons concerned with the security of the state. The new Prime Minister told the Chamber that he will permit no action that will endanger the position of allied armies in Egyptian territory or cause anxiety to the men fighting for democracy. The Parliament has approved overwhelmingly Egypt's loyalty to Britain. Ali Maher Pasha was believed to have been the leading Axis sympathizer in Egypt, and suspicion was expressed that he had transmitted military secrets to the Axis.

Internal Conditions.

The Egyptian government has devoted its attention to strengthening the army, building new airdromes, and cultivating a variety of foodstuffs so as to avert shortages due to the preponderant concentration of the peasants on production of cotton. In spite of her fertility Egypt is forced to import much of its food because so much of the soil is given over to cotton. With the outbreak of the war the export market for cotton dwindled. In 1934, in a total value of exports of £E 34,080,913, cotton represented the value of £E 24,736,918, or more than two thirds. To alleviate the situation, caused by the stoppage of exports, the British government had bought almost the whole crop of Egyptian cotton in 1940, and in 1941 bought it in equal shares with the Egyptian Government, to be stored and later shipped abroad as soon as transportation facilities and markets will allow. Meanwhile Great Britain shipped thousands of tons of foodstuffs to Egypt. A sharp rise in prices made living conditions difficult and increased the cost of the maintenance of the British army. The subsidizing of cotton growing by the British, most welcome to the Egyptians, made a more rational utilization of the land difficult. The Egyptian minister of agriculture announced on July 16, 1942, the reduction of Egypt's cotton acreage by more than 50 per cent from 1941. The government offered bonuses to farmers for growing cereals instead of cotton. Thus the area under cotton will be reduced to 700,000 acres as compared with 1,600,000 last year, and the cotton crop will be the smallest in 50 years. This however will not be regrettable, because there is still a large quantity of the last two crops in storage, and the new arrangement will cut down the necessity for imports and thus save valuable shipping space.

External Relations.

In his speech from the throne at the opening of the Egyptian parliament on March 30, King Fuad stressed the aim of fulfilling the treaty of friendship with Great Britain in an atmosphere of confidence and equality. Special emphasis was put upon the ties of fraternity, friendship and cooperation, uniting Egypt with the Arab peoples and the Mohammedans of the Near East. One of the sons of King Ibn Saud of Arabia, Emir Mansour, visited Egypt, and the cordial relations between this leading Arab monarch and guardian of the Mohammedan faith, and the British did much to impress the Egyptians. A conference on Arab culture and education was called in Cairo to bring about a similarity of curricula of instruction in all Arab-speaking lands and to coordinate Arab cultural activities.

The British have named a British secretary of state for Middle Eastern affairs, who will reside in Cairo, showing thereby the importance attached to the Middle East in British diplomacy. The first occupant of this office was Oliver Lyttelton, whose place was taken in February 1942 by Richard G. Casey, formerly Australian envoy to the United States. The British secretary of state for Middle Eastern affairs is a member of the British War Cabinet. On Nov. 23 the American minister to Egypt, Alexander Kirk, and the United States commander in the Middle East, Lieut. General Frank Andrews, called on Premier Mustafa-Nahas Pasha who expressed to them his great satisfaction at seeing United States forces cooperating with Great Britain, Egypt's ally, in the defense of democracy and the small nations. President Roosevelt replied in a letter in which he emphasized that the Americans are proud of the friendship and goodwill of the people of Egypt, knowing that they are united with them in the common desire to create a world in which mankind shall be free.