Diplomatic history of Australia the democratic world. In a country gripped by this fear, the government's defence policy was dominated by the idea of "forward defence", in which Australia would seek to prevent the Communist "thrust into South-East Asia". The committal of troops to the Vietnam War was viewed as an attempt by the Menzies Government to strengthen the alliance with the USA following Great Britain's withdrawal "east of Suez". With his arrival in October 1966, Lyndon Baines Johnson became the first US President to visit Australia. The visit came in the light of increasing international criticism over the war in Vietnam. The majority
State visit of the President of Ireland to the United Kingdom reception for members of the Irish community at the Guildhall before the president departed from Coventry for Dublin. State visit of the President of Ireland to the United Kingdom The State visit of the President of Ireland to the United Kingdom occurred on 7 April 2014. It was the first state visit of a President of Ireland to the United Kingdom. The visit came three years after the first state visit by a British monarch to Ireland following its independence. President Michael D. Higgins and First Lady Sabina Higgins were welcomed by Queen Elizabeth II on 8 April at Windsor