ee ME EU
Our Tory rulers still haven't an inkling of how the world has changed since the days of gunboats incidents, In some cireles it was obviously thought that a wave of jingoism, whipped up on the basis of a tale of atrocities to British soldiers, would sweep over the country and give them a blank cheque to behave in the old imperialist manner in Southern Arabia. But times have changed, The folly of the Government has been pointed out by such serious organs of cnpitshist thought as The Times, The Economist and the Financial Times, all of which have stated that the Tory Government is mishandling the situation. To cap it all, the Americans let the Tories down and denied the atrocity storye
Of course there are a complex of factors at work in Southern Arabia, and the atrocity story was perhaps directed just as much against the Americans as the Sgyptions (to put pressure upon them to stop aid to Egypt). But the whole affair has wide implications for all aspects of British politics: The fear expressed by some capitalist circles that Britain may get bogged down in a 'South Vietnam-like' situation is a real one; the fact that Home is talking: about taking from troops from Germany to send them to Southern Arabia will intensify the tensions.in NATO and raises again the question of conscription; CNDers may find that one of the main arguments against in the coming months is the need for Britain to have The Bomb to stop Nasser using his nuclear weaponSe ;
The Labour Party must make a stand now against this country being further inv@lved, decisive action will have a wide effect in view of the differences in the capitalist class on the question. But more important, the coming Labour Government must be pledged to clear all British treops out of Southern Arabia so that the principle of self-determination can be applied.