Mr. Acheson's. Agenda
Did Mr. Acheson know about the North Korean bombings before he left Washington ? The State Department was apparently consulted beforehand, so presumably he did. One result of these bombings. will probably be to crowd yet another subject on to the already full agenda which has been prepared for his visit. It is less than a month since the Secretary of State was in Europe last, but in this short space the old pro-
lems have lost none of their urgency. The prospect for a speedy ratification of the Bonn agreements seems to be no brighter, to say the least, than it was a month ago when they were signed. The Bonn Parliament is due to debate them next month, and though it is generally expected that ratifi- cation will be the eventual outcome of the debate, the atmos- phere and voting at Bonn will inevitably have repercussions on the fate of the agreements when they come before the French Assembly. And on the present showing both M. Pinay and M. Schuman may enter the debate (if they still hold office) shorn of some of the authority which they badly need to counter the lively opposition that can be expected to the - agreements from Gaullists, Communists and others. Their posi- tion has been undermined by a question which has nothing to do with Germany—Tunisia: On this, and also on Indo-China, M. Schuman may have much to say to Mr. Acheson when he joins the talks in London. American aid to France, and American understanding -of French problems, is thorough and prompt, at any rate where Europe is concerned. But American public opinion, if not the State Department, is alwaysinclined to equivocate when confronted by the problems of its allies' over- seas dependencies. Certainly there is a strong demand in France for a more sympathetic -American appreciation of French policy towards Tunisia. The same sort of complaint has in the past been made by British Governments against America's attitude towards the Middle East, which is another area that has found a place on the agenda of this week's talks. Here Mr. Acheson and Mr. Eden should have the benefit of the conclusions (if any) reached by the conference of Middle Eastern diplomats which ended at the Foreign Office on Tuesday.
