LEADERS IN CONFERENCE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24949, 23 June 1942, Page 2

LEADERS IN CONFERENCE

In the timing of his second visit to the United States within six months Mr Churchill has perhaps' been unfortunate. It coincides with a serious Allied reverse in the Middle East, and with a grave development in the Soviet's southern defensive operations. Axis propagandists have very naturally claimed to perceive in the Prime Minister's presence in America in a period of such stress an indication that Great Britain is taking the role of suppliant. But the facts speak otherwise. It is obvious, in the first place, that the visit must have been arranged in advance of the Libyan withdrawal. A national leader, and especially one with such multifarious duties as Mr Churchill accepts, cannot dash off on the spur of the moment to spend days in consultation with the leader of an Allied Power, especially when the conversations cover such a range of subjects as has been suggested in Washington speculation. It is entirely logical, furthermore, that after the Soviet Foreign Minister's visit to Great Britain and the United States, which yielded agreements of an importance transcending the matters of immediate moment on the war front, the heads of the two great democracies should desire to confer at the earliest opportunity concerning plans and commitments arising from this new move in international solidarity. In fact, while the purely military aspects of the world struggle must, as an American despatch states, be given "right of way" during the present conference, there is reason to believe that the discussions may have a much wider scope. The immediate questions upon which the Prime Minister and the President will confer

are not in issue between the two nations. The United States is pledged to give its full support, industrial and military; in the common cause, and the strategical considerations arising from the partnership must be reconsidered at frequent intervals. It is surmised that an agreement concerning the establishment of a military front in support of Russia is being sought, and emphasis is given to this assumption by the fact that there is general recognition of the desirability of striking hard at the Axis at the earliest practicable moment. Decision upon this question, and decision in the disposition of forces on the United Nations' fronts elsewhere throughout a battleground that girdles the world, may be reached at the conferences, but will not be divulged. On the other hand, it is possible that Mr Churchill and President Roosevelt will look for agreement upon the broader bases of international cooperation which must be expected to inform the relations between their nations and the liberated nations of Europe after the war. If this war is, as the present meeting eloquently reminds the world, indivisible, it is the conviction of men of goodwill that peace and reconstruction must be equally so. The pressure of ominous, but by no means overwhelming, current phases in the world struggle is not likely to deter the two leaders when they come together from planning towards a new order that promises not only victory but peace and security to the nations united in the conflict.