KHRUSHCHEV'S SPEECHES to the Hungarians, loaded as they have been
with hypocritical cant, have tome at an appropriate moment; nobody, having read them, is likely to regard as sincere his present line on the H-bomb. In our correspon- dence columns this week Christopher Driver argues that Khrushchev may not be 'sincere' in the sense of having honourable intentions, but that he probably means what he says: he would like to ban H-bomb tests. Of course he would! Russia has done all the testing she wants to do for the present. But to imagine that Mr. K. will be deterred by the prospect of 'well-earned odium' from having a fresh series of tests in a few months' time is an illusion. Has Mr. K. been deterred One jot by the well-earned odium of Hungary? For the West to suspend tests now without a Russian quid pro quo—in the form of some agreement on control of nuclear weapons—would be interpreted everywhere as a sign of weakness : and rightly. This does not alter the fact that the West has slipped up, by putting itself in the position where Mr. K. can gain such easy propaganda victories. Nor is it—as Mr. Driver argues—inconsistent to believe that we should go ahead with negotiations to ban nuclear bomb tests as quickly as possible. To contend that we should not allow ourselves to be deluded by a particular propagandist trick is not the same as contending that we should abandon all hope of reaching agreement.
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