Show I r 1 New Face or Just a Mask JT IT TT begins to look as if the allies made a mistake mistake mis mis- take in giving Italy a breathing spell from K aIr naval and perhaps land attacks against I the Italian mainland In the expectation that the new Badoglio regime would speedily capit capit- We dont don't know the inside story of the dIplomatic diplomatic dip dIp- negotiations which may have been fr going on or the true facts as to the allies allies' I military situation and the readiness of our forces to launch to-launch Intensive and sustained attacks attacks attacks at at- at- at tacks against the Italian mainland but it looks as if military action except on Sicily was ras deliberately delayed for a period while i some lome kind of peace deal with the Badoglio regime was discussed If that was the true situation it seems entirely probable that theiL the iL Badoglio government was stringing us along playing for time while they and their German allies were getting set for a prolonged defense defense defense de de- de- de of northern Italy and the sea 1 and Adriatic sea entrances to Hitler's fortress of cf Europe through France and the Balkans respectively At least all reports indicate that Germany Ger- Ger many nany with Italian connivance has made good use of that breathing snell spell to pull Bull back land and sea forces to new new defense lines running through the arc from southern France Corsica Cor Cor- Cor- Cor sica northern Italy and across the Adriatic into Yugoslavia There Is ls good reason to question whether the new Italian regime is so much different from the old It has bas a new face face but but that face may well prove to be a mask After all aU both the king and Badoglio for years went along with Mussolini and the fascists They may not have seen eye to 0 o e eye e with Benito on all phases of his operations but they certainly certainly certainly were in accord with his broad program of Italian military rejuvenation and sion alon Now when that program has failed so miserably they have taken over the reins not with any particular desire to abandon the principles of militarism and aggression but to save what the they can out of the wreck of the program which was the physical fruition of those principles It begins to look as if Italy will have to tobe tobe tobe be beaten to her kne knees knees and and s-and and that only when that job is completed can a truly liberal regime come into power in Italy which will wUl h finally and utterly repudiate the fascist principles principles principles prin prin- and program v Th That being th the p probable q situation i u. u ti m we wed we'd d bett better r get at the th job wl out f further c d Cl ia y |