Evening star., 1943-12-02
Stain Talks Believed
Under Way Following
Cairo Conference
Continued From First Page.)

Soviet leaders are intensely inter
ested.
Only one real vestige of the con
ference, outside of newspapermen
remained when the official com
munique was released last night. 1
was disclosed that the senior Amer.
lean war planning group met yes
terday morning and held join
conference with their British op
posite numbers in the afternoon.
The American group included Real
Admiral B. H. Bieri, Brig. Gen. L. S
Kuter for air and Col. F.. N. Roberts
for the Army, but it was not dis.
closed whether they were interested
primarily in European or Far East.
ern affairs There was an inkling
however, in the hint that 1t. Gen
Joseph w. Stilwell, United States
commander in chief in the China.
Burma-India theater, might return.
Agree on Operations.
There was no secret of the con.
ference's purposes as regards Japan
for the official communique asserted
that 1.-The several military missions
have agreed upon future military
operations" against her, and that
the three great Allies are fighting
this war to restrain and punish the
aggression of Japan"
Japan will be thrown out of al
territories which she has taken by
violence and greed" the communique
added.
(By this, Japans possessions
would be sliced from areas of
some 100000 square miles and
50O,000,000 population to some
$4,000 square miles and wholly
japanese population of 75,00O,O0O.)
Significantly, the military leaders
participating included Admiral Lord
Louis Mountbatten, Allied COM
mander in chief in Southeast Asia
Gen. Stilwell and Maj. Gen. Claire
L. Chennault, United States Air
Force commander in China. And
there now is good fighting weather
IN the China -Burma-India theater
Significantly also, it was learned
that Gen. Douglas MacArthur's S
chief Of staff, Maj. Gen. Richard K.
Sutherland, attended the meetings,
thus bringing in Gen. MacArthur's
Southwest Pacific command.
Gen. Sutherland was not mem
toned in the communique listing
major leaders, but for that matter
1t also did not list Admiral Mount
batten, Gen. Stilwell or Gen. Chen
nault. Nor was Gen. Sutherland's
name mentioned by the observers at
the sessions who reported the physi-
cal activities to the corps of news
papermen, who were required by
censorship to sit in Cairo.
The controversial issue of island
hopping" to strike at Japan, to
which Gen. Macarthur is opposed,
was discussed thoroughly British
source reported.
The great conference brought to-
gether 20l British experts. more
than 100 Americans and 20 Chinese.
Although the communique was
confined purely to the Far East,
when the overall picture of the con-
ference is seen in retrospect it be-
comes increasingly clear that while
Mr.. Churchill and President Roose-
velt doubtless laid plans for in
creasing the war on Japan, they
and their military and naval chiefs
never lost sight of the German en-
emy.
Besides the reported discussion of
a new invasion of Europe and Balk-
an matters there were these other
indications of the global nature Of
the talks:
The active presence of the Ameri-
can and British Ambassadors to
Moscow, w. Averell Hartman and
Sir Archibald Clark Kerr, could not
escape notice in the restricted North
African area.
Steinhardt in Parleys.
Perhaps equally noteworthy was
the participation of Laurence A.
Steinhardt, United States Ambas-
sador to Turkey. Even the carefully
censored Cairo newspapers have
carried freely Turkish reports that
turkey virtually is in the United
Nations camp, and either will Join
IN the war or cede bases shortly
British Foreign Secretary Anthony
Eden, who conferred here after the
Moscow conference with Turkish
Foreign Minister human Menemen-
cloglu, was an activeelatecomer to
the conference.
AS Tor the British American staff
meeting, it was the biggest military
meeting of the entire conference.
with extra chairs brought into the
main session room to accommodate
80 British and American officers.
Significantly also, Gen. Eisenhower
and others, including the British
Mediterranean chiefs, left this meet
ing after an hours discussion, and
the three top British and American
Army, Navy and air leaders finally
remained closeted together for some
time.
A British source said the principal
problems submitted by the Chinese
were: Combined strategy for the
Pacific, Southeast Asia and China
theaters for quick defeat of Japan;
reopening the Burma road by an Of
fensive from India; urgent supplies
for the Chinese armies and people
and postwar reconstruction in
China, including help from the Al
lied governments.
Main Issues Listed.
Main issues, listed by this same
source, on the American British side
were:
l. Taking the sea-air offensive to
Japans very gates, with sea power
represented at the sessions by strong
naval staff personnel, including So
British Admiralty officials alone.
2. Avoiding local operations,
point in which island hopping was
discussed.
3. Broader haison among stats in
future strategy
4. The staggering problems of
troop and supply transport.
S. Increasing the power of the air
offensive in the Pacific.
The conference was, as a repre-
sentative of President Roosevelt de-