Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1957-03-21
Theropy in Bermuda

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= President Eisenhower and Prime
Minister Macmillan Of Britain meet now
In Bermuda with a difficult and delicate
job on their hands. Their main objective
Is to mitigate, or eliminate entirely. the
serious differences which within recent
months have strained relations between
our two countries. Accordingly, acting
as thermometers and reconcilerS. they viii
seek above all to revive the kind of Anglo
American unity that is of vital impor-
lance not merely to the United Kingdom
and the United States, but to the entire
free world.
This is task that will be far from
easy. Although time has had some heal
Ing effects, great deal of political and
diplomatic therapy is still needed to cure
the rupture caused by last falls Inflated
British and French military expedition
against Egypt. Mr.. Macmillan, OF course.
is not in Bermuda to do penance for
that miSadventure, nor is the President
there to apologize for our Governments
stern opposition to it, both before and
after 1t took place. But the two leaders,
while continuing to represent differing
views on the pros and cons Of this mat
ter, must nonetheleSS strive for a firm
meeting OF minds. They must do SO to
bring about a new concert Of Anglo
American policy toward a host Of formi-
dable problems deeply affecting the in
terests and security Of Britain and the
United States, and of all other free ma
lions as well, in virtually every corner
Of the globe
These problemS-some political, some
economic, some military and some mix
ture OF all three-vary in degrees Of
urgency, but each is important and COM
pick. One revolveS around the fact that
we and the British do not see eye to
eye on what kind of trade should be
carried on with Red China. Another has
to do with BritainS plan to withdraw
a substantial number of its troops from
European economizing step that must
be taken with care lest it seriously
weaken the North Atlantic Treaty Organ
ization. And third, which is the most
pressing of all at the moment, is the
rather agonizing problem of the con-
tinuing crisis in the Middle East. London,
with Paris concurring, is still unenthusi-
astic Ito use mild word) about our
Governments approach to that crisis.
And this suggests, in turn, that the Ber-
muda conference probably will be hard
put to arrive at mutually satisfactory
agreement on how best to counter Soviet
inflltrating moves, head off the danger
OF renewed Arab-1Sraeli warfare, and
deal effectively with Colonel Nasser on
such issues as the Suez Canal and the
Gulf of Aqaba
Nevertheless, although 1t is hardly
likely that President Eisenhower and
Prime Minister Macmillan will be able
to formulate any quick or magical solu-
lions for problems of this sort, there is
good reason to believe that their talks
will do much to restore the Anglo
American partnership to normal strength.
For both Of these leaders, after all, are
profoundly aware of the stakes involved:
Nobody needs to tell them that Britain
and the United States, as the keystone
powers among the free nations, can 60
separate ways-like a divorced couple
only at the risk of disintegrating the
Atlantic alliance, inviting unparalleled
disaster upon themselves, and handing
the world over to the tender mercies Of
the Kremlin
This point has been well made, re-
peatedly, by the great Winston Churchill.
AS he has put it, "At all times when
America and the British Commonwealth
have stood together, things have gone
more or less right for us. Whenever we
have drifted apart in the present century
we have met with calamity" and any
development Of that sort now would
surely lead sooner or later to catas-
trophe such as mankind has never
known" Mr.. Eisenhower and Mr.. Macmil-
Ian subscribe to this judgment, and it is
for that reason that the Bermuda con-
ference promises to be much more sue
cessful than the Cassandras predict.