Flank Protection

U.S. military men have long argued that Greece and Turkey, on the far-flung right-flank of the North Atlantic nations, should be full-fledged members of NATO. The British have long argued that to extend NATO to the Near East would spread its forces too thin, politically and materially. Instead, the British wanted Turkey to be the center of a separate Near East defense plan, though they were vague about how to achieve it. Last week, Britain threw in her weight with the U.S., formally came out for bringing Turkey and Greece into the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

Next step: persuading the reluctant Belgians, Dutch and Scandinavians to agree. After that, Turkey and Greece, already getting U.S. military aid, will get formal invitations, are sure to accept.

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