 Complete the following phrase:  A January 1917 paper, probably drafted by Macdonogh, argued that, with a compromise peace leaving Germany in control of the Balkans increasingly likely, Britain should protect her Empire by capturing Aleppo, which would make Turkeys hold on Palestine and Mesopotamia untenable. Aleppo could be more easily reached from Palestine than from Mesopotamia, provided Murray had 910 infantry divisions, and it was argued that the Turks would have problems assembling 100,000 men to defend it. This paper was much more optimistic than Robertsons later views, but at this stage 