The visitors to the U.S., on hand and in transit at Eastertide, were a varied company. In age they ranged from Ireland's white-thatched, sprightly President Sean Thomas O'Kelly, 76, to Jordan's young (23), furnace-tested King Hussein. In geography and position they ranged from vest-pocket-sized Denmark's Premier and Foreign Minister, H. C. (for Hans Christian) Hansen, to vast Brazil's powerful, unbending War Minister and possible presidential candidate, Henrique Teixeira Lott. But for all their differences, they had one thing in common: all were friends of the U.S., and they meant their visits to tighten the ties.
Jordan's Hussein can and does thank the...