PLAYING POLITICS WITH WAR

Considering the parlous plight of Australia's defences, what possible realistic contribution can Australia make towards stabilising a South East Asia where the good comrades of the Socialist world are now openly attacking one another? The Governments of Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia are not likely to be greatly impressed with the news that the Fraser Government has called on Communist China to withdraw its troops from Vietnam, ending what Prime Minister Fraser described as a "potentially dangerous situation." They are well aware of the weakness of Australian defence.
The criminals who form the Governments of the Soviet Union and Communist China are more likely to be amused than concerned about the requests of the Australian Government.

As stressed in the February issue of "Intelligence Survey", a major Australian defence programme is urgently required if the view of those who claim that Australians would not bear the cost of an adequate defence system, we are confident that if financed realistically to make use of present unlimited productive capacity, with a consequent uplift in the whole economy, the overwhelming majority of Australians would welcome such a policy. Even more fatuous than the comments by the Fraser Government on the open military conflict in South East Asia, were those of Labor Leader Hayden, who said that if the Fraser Government had not stopped the economic aid to Vietnam being provided by Australia, it might have had some "clout" with the Vietnamese Government.
So long as both the Soviet Union and Communist China are confident that Australians will prostrate themselves to export them an increasing flow of economic blood transfusions, they will treat with contempt any lectures by the Fraser Government on the error of their ways. As both the Communist powers are also contemptuous of the Carter Government, which also prostrates itself to keep the economic blood transfusions flowing, why should they heed anything Prime Minister Fraser has to say?

Global events in recent weeks have highlighted the harsh realities of a situation in which the West has demonstrated that it is apparently helpless in showing any firm resolve. Visiting U.S. Admiral Zumwalt (Retired) has told Australians in the frankest terms that in any major military conflict between the U.S.A. and the Soviet Union, the U.S.A. could do little to help defend Australia. The Admiral's advice was that Australia should strive to become completely self-sufficient. There is no PHYSICAL reason why Australia cannot adopt this policy. The alleged problem is FINANCIAL - a simple matter of realistic bookkeeping.

It is but a very small crumb of comfort that Defence Minister Killen has persuaded Federal Cabinet that there should be an increase of 2 per cent in defence spending for the next financial year. But such an increase is but a fraction of the total run down in defence spending over recent years. And the proposed 2 per cent may not even take place if the Fraser Government finds that its deficit is much greater than predicted.

If the Fraser Government set about developing a major defence programme, it would not only lift Australian morale, but it would then be in a position to offer realistic defence cooperation with New Zealand and Indonesia. The first essential, however, is for the adoption of financial policies, which will make what is PHYSICALLY possible FINANCIALLY possible. Along with the rest of the West, Australia has little time left in which to act before the point of no return is reached.

'THERE GOES THE MIDDLE EAST'

Dr. Alfred Lilienthal, a distinguished American Jewish expert on the Middle East, warned in a trilogy of books, "What Price Israel?" "There goes the Middle East", and "The Other Side of the Coin", that the West's uncritical support for the Zionist State of Israel would produce an anti-Western backlash right throughout the Moslem world, a backlash which the Communists would exploit. Dr. Lilienthal paid the price all Jews pay that dares to oppose international Political Zionism. He was smeared viciously even being termed "anti-semetic"! Unfortunately events have confirmed Dr. Lilienthal's warnings.

As we have warned, Iran is being lost to the West because the West failed to understand the realities of the situation. Having united with the religious opponents of the Shah, the Marxists are now intent upon revolutionising Iran still further. Sometimes described as the policeman of the Persian Gulf and was backed by President Carter, the defeat of the Shah sent major shock waves right throughout the Middle East. The spectacle of Americans being attacked in Iran, on the run in a country in which the U.S.A. has invested thousands of millions of dollars in military and industrial support, the murder of the American Ambassador in Marxist dominated Afghanistan, and President Carter being openly criticised by his Mexican host, President Jose Lopez Portillo, presented a picture of a U.S.A. seriously in decline.
The naked Carter betrayal of Taiwan added to the growing apprehension in the West's strongest remaining ally in the Arab world, Saudi Arabia.

Regretfully it is going to take much more than the visit of Her Majesty, the Queen, to offset the ominous developments of the Middle East. Saudi Arabia has had close and developing relations with Taiwan, and was badly shaken by the cynical Carter betrayal of Taiwan. Saudi Arabia is now likely to move towards closer relationships with the more militant Arab States of Syria, Iraq and Libya. These developments have had a marked impact upon Sadat of Egypt, with the result that he is refusing to make any further concessions to the Israelis.

As we predicted, the famous Carter sponsored Camp David talks have proved abortive. The Zionist propaganda machine is now working harder than ever to convince the West that Israel is some type of front line defence for the West in the Middle East. Exactly the opposite is the truth. If the West, reacting to Zionist pressure, insists upon backing Israel to the exclusion of meeting legitimate Palestinian demands, Dr. Lilienthal will be proved right. The whole Middle East and the vital oil supplies will be lost to the West.

Western public opinion must force a more realistic Middle East policy, one that guarantees Israel's security within the pre-1967 borders and the right of the Palestinians to become a self-governing nation. As another courageous American Jew, Mr. Benjamin Friedman, warned many years ago, to the extent that the West uncritically supports Political Zionism it assists with the Soviet advance in the Middle East.

BRIEF COMMENTS

The latest unemployment figures, taking the total to a new record post-Second World War level of nearly 500,000, provides further confirmation of the failure of the Fraser Government's finance economic policies. During the 1977 election campaign Prime Minister Fraser predicted that from February 1978 onwards, unemployment would fall. It has progressively increased ever since. Government apologists have claimed that it was the wage explosions of the Whitlam era, which were responsible for unemployment. But it is now over three years since the Whitlam Government was defeated, and during that period unemployment has increased at a faster rate than during the Whitlam era. And there has been no wages explosion. In fact real wages have fallen by a fraction since 1975. Clearly the Fraser Government does not even understand how the finance economic system works. That is why events continue to make their predictions look foolish - or worse.

When Joshua Nkomo's terrorists shot down another Rhodesian civilian airliner, not a sound of condemnation was heard from Washington or London. But when Rhodesians struck terrorist camps in Zambia last week, loud were the protests from Washington and London. Writing in "The Age", Melbourne of February 17th, courageous columnist Michael Barnard comments, "In the struggle for Rhodesia we have something running deeper than the oil of Iran. It is a test of the objectivity, principle and moral perception without which our shrinking Western civilisation ultimately cannot survive."
The continuing betrayal of Rhodesia is a betrayal of everything that was best in Western Civilisation. But although the hour is late, the threatened death of Rhodesia may assist the West to recover its lost soul. In the end it may prove that the Rhodesian drama contained the seeds of the regeneration of Christian Civilisation.