January 14, 1943 marked the opening day of the Casablanca Conference, critical meetings between President Roosevelt and Prime Minister Churchill to address allied strategy in light of the North African Campaign. The conference, under UN auspises, was to include Stalin as well, but his personal involvement in running the Russian campaign kept him from attending.. Also in attendance at the meeting were Generals Charles de Gaulle and, Henri Giraud, the High Commissioner of French North Africa. Several things were accomplished at the 10 day conference held at the Anfa Hotel in the hills of Casablanca. The most immediate issue was capitalizing on the success the North African campaign which had succeeded in diverting the Germans and Italians to Egypt and Tunisia and away from the European continent – plans were made for Allied invasions of Italy and Sicily, and increased support for Stalin. Further, there was a rapproachment between de Gaulle and Giraud agreeing to work in tandem to liberate France from the Germans.. The Conference went on for 10 days, with meetings lasting throughout the day and into the night. Stalin was kept informed thoughout, but there were no public announcements until a press conference marked the end of the meetings on January 24. Looking back at the reports from this conference, it certainly harkens back to another era. Roosevelt in his comments reiterates time and again the challenges ahead for the U.N., with the prime objective to remove Axis forces of occupation and supression. Morocco’s naiscent independence movement received some psychological impetus from the Conference and side meetings. Today, with the world turned upside down the U.S. is the occupier, in the guise of promoting independence, having flaunted the U.N. and constructed a policy built on lies and fabrications. |
