The U.S. government showed obvious relief this week as France, the U.S.'s oldest ally, the nation at the heart of the NATO pact, stopped short of the brink of civil war. In Paris General Charles de Gaulle was made Premier by constitutional vote (see FOREIGN NEWS). In Washington President Eisenhower, after an uneasy week, took what amounted to a major U.S. policy decision. He told his staff that he would be "very interested" in meeting De Gaulle at the right time in Washington or some place else to talk things over.
Eisenhower's observation marked a relatively happy ending to a...