Evening star., 1953-07-10
Promoting Western Unity

The Big Three meeting now going on here
has as its main objective the achievement of
concert of views on great complex Of crucial
problems involving every key area of the globe.
The confereeS-Secretary Dulles, French For
eign Minister Bidault, and the Marques Of
Salisbury, Britain's Acting Foreign Secretary
are not likely to arrive at any spectacular or
final decisions, but their deliberations will
nevertheless be of first Importance to the free
worlds effort to hold fast together for decent
and enduring peace.
In effect, the current meeting is designed
to lay a firm groundwork for the projected
Bermuda Conference of President Eisenhower
Prime Minister Churchill of Britain and Pre-
nier Laniel of France. When this thrice
postponed conference finally takes place dts
site may be changed, and its date will depend
on how soon Sir Winston RECEIVERS from his
fatigue), the leaders of the Western Big Three
will be expected to act decisively-if possible
to fornra solid common front on all the difficult
issues now up for preliminary consideration
and carif1cation in the Dulles -Bdault- Salisbury
talks.
These issues, nearly all of which are in
state of unpredictable flux and some OF which
are potentially very explosive, include the
following: Cd The serious Anglo-Egyptian
dispute and Middle Eastern tension in general;
(2) French military and political troubles in
China; 60 the critical deadlock between
President Syngman Rhee and the American
directed United Nations Command over Korean
armiStice terms; A) economic psychological
and other difficulties affecting the defensive
build-up of the Atlantic community; 60 the
development of anti-Soviet Righteousness be-
hind the Iron Curtain in Europe; (6) the all
important question of Germanys reunification;
and Cd whether or not the Western Big Three
should meet with Russia in the relatively near
future, and at the highest level, in an effort to
settle the more urgent problems, of the cold
war-a proposition that has suddenly been
rendered exceedingly dubious by Beria's down.
fall and what seems to be the beginning OF
vast internal Soviet upheaval.
In varying degrees, in their approach to
all such matters France, Britain and the United
States have lately been tending to diverge more
and more from each other. Although they see
eye to eye on basic principles, they have
differing views on how best to put those
principles to work and on how best to deal with
the peace offensive" of the conspiratorial men
of the Kremlin. The differences, of course,
are not grave, but they could deepen and
harden and become extremely serious If nothing
were done about them. That is why the Dulles
Bdault-Salsbury meeting is a timely one, and
there is good reason to believe that 1t WILL 90
much to strengthen Western unity.
Certainly at very least, this get-together
should smooth the way for the Eisenhower
Churchill-Laniel conference. For by reducing
present areas of differences, and by reaching
numerous preliminary decisions, it can make
it easier for the leaders of the Big Three to
hammer out genuinely comprehensive and
resolute common policy-the kind OF policy
, they must have if they are to negotiate from
strength and achieve peace-promoting agree
ments of lasting value when the time comes
for them to meet with Russia's top boss who
ever that may be.