CALCULATED RISK
IT ought to be a relief that the Government has at last felt able to deny foreknowledge of Israel's attack on Egypt. But the Prime Minister went on to say : `There was something else. There was, we knew perfectly well, a risk of it, and in the event of the risk of it certain discussions took place.' Sir Anthony's statement, therefore, raises more questions than it answers. The first is: why did not Sir Anthony—or one of his Cabinet— make this avowal before? The accusations of 'collusion' have been thrown around for weeks past, and there has been no lack of opportunity for a formal denial. The failure to make it has inevitably reinforced suspicion. The second question is: why if the Government was so convinced of the dangers of an out- break in the Middle East, did they not take preventive action, instead of waiting until it started? The third, and possibly the most important, is: why did we not consult the Americans and the Commonwealth about what should be done in the event of the risk materialising? Or to put it bluntly, why did we decide to deceive the Americans and the Commonwealth about our intentions? Discussions on the Tripartite Declara- tion were going on in Washington up to the last moment; yet no hint was given to the US that we did not think the Declaration applied in the event of an Israeli attack on Egypt. There seems no doubt that M. Mollet was ,right when he said that the Americans were not consulted because they would have stopped us; when Sir Anthony and Mr. Selwyn Lloyd said the reason was lack of time, they were guilty of a strange lapse of memory. Sir Anthony's insistence that 'there was no agreement arrived at until I informed the House about it,' recalls that of manufacturers who raise their prices by the same amount on the same day, but still maintain that they have no agreement to do so. They are usually being truthful; in such cases, agreement is unnecessary, and even unwise. An implied understanding is enough. From Sir Anthony's remarks it looks very much as if that is what we had with the French, though not, of course, with the Israelis. It is to be hoped that Sir Anthony's denial will at least convince our friends in other countries on that score.
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