ORGANISING THE WEST
THIS week's meeting of the Defence Ministers of the twelve Atlantic Treaty Powers, preceded as it has been by a meeting of the twelve Chiefs of Staff, should prove more important than the first meeting held a month ago, in that, provided agreement is reached on the general strategic plan, the United States will at once release the whole of the 1,000 million dollars already voted for the arming and equipment of the forces of the European partners in the treaty. There is little doubt that agreement will materialise, thanks to the careful preparation of the ground in advance. As to whatever strategic plan may be approved, details must obviously be kept secret. The less discussion there is, for example, on whether the defence line is to be the Elbe or the Rhine the better. What is certain is that, as Lord Montgomery, now an international servant, said in New York on Tuesday, there must be no question of regaining lost territory ; the territory must be held, not lost, in the first instance. That is the essential of the defence programme, and every nation must be prepared to make its due contribution to the defence forces as soon as decisions regarding their role and their numbers are taken. It may be assumed that the main naval burden, which should not be heavy, will fall on this country and America, and that our contribution to the air forces will be considerable. The standardisation of those forces will depend largely on the pro- ductive capacity of British factories. Whatever financial sacrifice all this entails must be borne The danger of war may be neither great nor increasing, but that it exists is undeniable. Talk of it comes from the east, not the west, and the recent Cominform wetting in Hungary has provided the opportunity for further mani- festations of belligerence. That need cause no great alarm, but Russia might well turn to war if she thought it would serve her purpose. She will think no such thing once the west is organised and armed.
