STRATEGY & SENSE

Wairarapa Times-Age, 29 May 1941, Page 5

STRATEGY & SENSE

“Our Bunker Hill of today may be several thousand miles from Boston. Anyone with an atlas and a reasonable knowledge of the sudden striking force of modern war knows it is stupid to wait till a probable enemy has gained a foothold from which to attack. Old-fashioned common sense calls for the use of a strategy which will prevent such an enemy from gaining a foothold in the first place. “We have, accordingly, extended our patrol in the north and south Atlantic waters and are steadily adding more ships and planes to that patrol. It is well known that the strength of the Atlantic Fleet has been greatly increased during the past year, and is constantly being built up. These ships and planes warn of the presence of attacking raiders on the sea, under the sea and above the sea. Danger from these raiders is greatly lessened if their location is definitely known. We are thus being forewarned and shall be on guard against efforts to establish Nazi bases closer to our hemisphere “The deadly facts of war compel nations for self-preservation to make stern choices and if we believe in the independence and integrity of the Americas we must be willing to fight to defend them just as much as we would fight for the safety of our own homes. “Our national policy today, therefore, is:

“First, we shall actively resist, wherever necessary and with all our resources, every attempt by Hitler to extend his Nazi domination over the Western Hemisphere. “Secondly, we shall actively resist his every attempt to gain control of the seas. We insist on keeping Hitlerism away from any point in the world which could and would be used as a base for an attack against the Americas. “Thirdly, we shall give every possible assistance to Britain and all who with Britain are resisting Hitlerism or its equivalent with forces of arms.