AMERICANS PUZZLED

Auckland Star, Volume LXXIV, Issue 227, 24 September 1943, Page 3

AMERICANS PUZZLED

Mac Arthur's Statement Qμ' East Asia Command -' FUTURE PACIFIC STRATEGY Rec. 11.30 a.m. NEW YORK, Sep. 23. General Mac Arthur's statement, implying that Australia is the most natural and effective base from which to direct the major offensive against Japan, puzzles military and naval circles, reports the correspondent of the Associated Press in Washington. Reliable sources insist that it does not fit any known situation regarding ,- the assignment of commands, such as that of Admiral Mountbatten in Burma or General Marshall as Allied Generalissimo.

At the same time the authorities profess to have no knowledge of changes in the relationship between the naval command of the South and Central Pacific areas and General Mac Arthur's command of the South-west Pacific. They say that the basic strategy of the Pacific war remains unchanged. The New York Herald-Tribune comments in an editorial that General Mac Arthur chose designedly or by accident a singularly inappropriate moment for his statement on Pacific strategy. "The injection of his cryptic pronouncement into the gossiping chatter about General Marshall is not likely to help much either toward the'proper organisation of the Allied High Command or the allocation of forces among the several war theatres." The New York Times says: "If Genera] Marshall becomes world Generalissimo, surely the British Empire is entitled to appoint a commander for Asiatic operations, based on India." It adds that Admiral Mountbatten's appointment does not raise the question of General MacArthur's subordination since the distances in the East are so great that operations must be split into several commands. "Only when the final stages of the invasion of Japan from China and Korea has been reached will the question of a Supreme Commander in East Asia become pertinent."