Problems of Defence
A debate on defence carried on under the shadow of the Czecho- slovakia transformation could not but be invested with an unlooked- for and sombre reality. Monday's discussion on the armed strength of the country by land, sea and air owed more to Mr. Eden's searching questions than to Mr. Alexander's comprehensive but uninspiring survey. In striking the right balance between right and wrong uses of men, money and materials in the circumstances of today any Government has admittedly a difficult task. The supreme question is whether, within those limitations, each service is at its optimum qualitatively, and whether the three services are as fully co-ordinated as they should be. The existence of a Minister of Defence should ensure that the latter aim is achieved, but the doubts expressed on Monday were not completely dispelled by Government speakers. As to the separate services, the Navy will have to remain largely a professional arm ; twelve months' conscript service can help it little. Its temporary weakness during a transi- tional period would be alarming but for the fact that there is no other fleet but the American that need be seriously considered today. Even so, there will be considerable relief when some battleships and more cruisers have returned to operational activity. Still more in the air than in the Navy everything depends on keeping not only abreast but ahead in new inventions. On that little in the way of detailed information can be expected, and the general assurances given by Mr. Alexander must be taken for what they may be worth. Neither in the case of the Air Force nor of the Army is the country given information which it has been considered safe to disclose in the case of the Navy. Our commitments, with the withdrawal from India and the impending withdrawal from Palestine, are contracting, but they are still formidable. There is ground for advocating full Commonwealth discussions regarding them. And co-ordination may need not merely an inter-service but an international connotation.
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