Dissent I'm not surprised that as the Prime Minister sees
his Rhodesian policy collapsing about him, he's decided that the best form of defence is attack. For the duration of the election campaign, it's clear, his refrain is going to be that, by advocating talks with Mr. Smith, the Tories are
giving 4id and comfort to the rebels, and thiis- in. their typical unpatriotic way—sabotaging the task of the British government.
As I say, I'm not surprised at that; but what does surprise me is the number of normally sensible Lib-Lab commentators who have fallen for this fundamentally anti-democratic line. For let us suppose (which is by no means certain) that the charge is valid. Are the Tories then to suppress what they believe to be right? Look at Vietnam, where all the experts are agreed that the major element in Hanoi's confidence that it can defeat one of the world's two super-powers, and thus the major reason for its refusal to come to the conference table, is its conviction that the anti-war movement in America will eventually force President Johnson to withdraw. Should, by this token, Senator Fulbright and his fellow- dissenters be gagged. and the great Vietnam debate be held in a cloak of secrecy behind closed doors?
If you want a free society, you've got to be prepared to pay the price. I believe it's worth it. Does Mr. Wilson? Do those who support him on Rhodesia?
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