The Merits of ‘Jaw Jaw’ The Protracted Conflict

Churchill’s reference to the comparative merits of “jaw-jaw,” over those of “war-war,” was not perhaps one of his most felicitous phrases, but the sentiment behind it is worth a thought or two.

When the European Security Conference in Madrid rose for a three-month break on July 28, the jawing had gone on since the previous November, and if anything had been achieved, nobody has drawn it to my attention. The point of interest here is that Winston Churchill evidently thought of negotiations, as most people do, as an alternative to hostilities; whereas the Communists, Soviet or otherwise, look upon talking as a form of war, among other forms.

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Brian Crozier

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Churchill’s reference to the comparative merits of “jaw-jaw,” over those of “war-war,” was not perhaps one of his most felicitous phrases, but the sentiment behind it is worth a thought or two.

When the European Security Conference in Madrid rose for a three-month break on July 28, the jawing had gone on since the previous November, and if anything had been achieved, nobody has drawn it to my attention. The point of interest here is that Winston Churchill evidently thought of negotiations, as most people do, as an alternative to hostilities; whereas the Communists, Soviet or otherwise, look upon talking as a form of war, among other forms.