Editorial. ..

New Year Opens To Liveliness In

The Cold War

SERE is nothing comforting or inspiring in the prospect for 1956. There is phenomenal pre ss in scientific achievement, and ;he creation of material wealth; in the field of spiritual things, in the security of the average i, the outlook is as dismal as it ! can be.

The Cold War is on again, ed and undenied.

Actually, it never was off. The 1 War is simply an international spiracy, inspired and directed by icovite Communism, to impose Communist system—enslave t by the State, instead of gov nent based on individual free —upon the world. The Reds, e armed to the teeth, plan to this, not by open war, but by srmining the economic structure Western civilisation, so that >s will ensue, and political jsterism (of which Moscow pro s the supreme example) will control.

The economic condition of it Britain, nerve centre of the ish Commonwealth, becomes in singly worse. Early in January, y motor car factories, main ig of the nation’s bverseas trade, reduced to a four-days week, lin’s biggest newspapers are ig out against fumbling govern t and uninspiring leadership, ritish press and people seem )le to visualise the terrifying lems created for their Govern : by (a) the loss of Britain’s >ea investments, which before d War II put a backbone of 000,000 per annum into her mal economy; (b) the loss of vast Emnire in Asia, which erly gave her an enormous pro d market for her products: and the impossibility of holding >eas markets while trying to (tain a short working week, wages and other features of Welfare State.”) The general election in France made political confusion worse >unded. The Communists, who 98 members in the old Parlia . now have 152. Nothing re ling a mandate has been given other party. France’s position, as an organised nation and as estern Power, has further de rated. oscow must be very happy with success of its underground in :e. Over a year ago, France

rejected the Paris Treaties—first clear evidence that the Western Alliance was breaking. Now, the Communist hold a quarter of the Chamber of Deputies, and the De Gaullist Party (once the largest party, and thought to guarantee France’s protection against Com munism) has been wiped out.

France, increasingly, is undepend able as a member of the Western bloc —which is exactly what Moscow has been working for). • Britain is suffering great political and financial embarrass ment by rebellion or threats of re belion in Cyprus, Singapore, Malaya, etc.; while similar embarrassments, in a greater degree, have been thrust upon France in respect of Morocco, Algeria, and Indo-China.

(The cost of maintaining armed forces in Cyprus and Malaya is very heavy; while, for France, the cam paigns lately finished in Indo-China, and current in North Africa, are almost crippling. This is all part of the Cold War). • The Russians have replied to the West’s formation of METO (Middle East Treaty Organisation, linking Pakistan, Persia, Iraq and Turkey) by making huge gifts— especially of armaments —to the Arab nations—especially Egypt, Syria and Saudi Arabia. (Little has been said about this in the newspapers—not enough to indicate that Moscow’s sudden move into the Middle East has created a situation of acute tension between the Western Powers and the Soviets.

Such a development is typical of the Cold War). • The British Prime Minister is making a formal visit to the United States for secret consultations with President Eisenhower. (It has been evident since the breakdown of the Foreign Ministers’

Conference in Geneva in November that a re-appraisal of the inter

national situation by USA and Britain is necessary. Two important new factors in the situation since the Summit Conference was arranged nine months ago are the re-emerg ence of Germany as a Great Power, to take the place of France in the Western line; and the illness of Pre sident Eisenhower, making it im probable that he will contest the next Presidential election. This poses for Britain and the world a vital question: Will a Democratic President follow the same line as President Eisenhower in relation to the Cold War?) • Russia’s Bulganin and Kruschev, touring the Asian States of India, Burma and Afghanistan, made a series of speeches deliberately offensive to the Western Powers, and especially Britain. (This, of course, is another calcu lated angle of the Cold War, planned to lessen Anglo-American influence and reduce our trade. The Russian purpose is to sow, in these aggressively neutralist countries, seeds of suspicion against Britain and America. • It is revealed, in the first week of the New Year, that Russia in recent months, has moved large, modern, naval and air forces from Europe into the Northwest Pacific. (In World War I, and in World War II until the intervention of Japan, the Pacific countries were not involved. The Pacific countries have been hoping that, if there is to be a World War 111, they can escape the worst of the explosion. There are no Asiatic countries now with sufficient sea and air forces to get into the Pacific countries south of the Equator. But if Russia really is putting a third of her sea and air forces into East Siberian and Chinese bases, the prospect assumes a different colour for the South Pacific countries. fTtHESE recent events show re- JL sounding successes for Russia in the Cold War; while the West’s only notable score is the formation of METO.

Events have been moving steadily towards the point where the West may acknowledge itself most seri ously embarrassed by the Cold War in most national structures based on economics, politics and social organisation.

But there is one unknown factor in the situation which yet may prove an embarrassment to Russia, and alter the trend of international events. It is the attitude of China.

The co-operation of China is vital to the Russian plan of undermining Western economy by destroying or crippling their interests in Asia. But British diplomacy never has ceased to believe that China, racially in dividualistic, ultimately will refuse to support Russia’s plan to impose

Communism on the world —even though China now is nominally Communist.

It is not a pretty picture, this which has been set up for the open ing of our New Year. But at least it is an interesting and lively one.

The moves and counter-moves in the Cold War —with your liberty and mine as the stake —are more fascinating than the unfolding of a Whodunit plot.