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 the Queen at Windsor Castle. A concert celebrating Irish music and culture was held in his honour at the Royal Albert Hall that night which he attended along with One Direction's Niall Horan. On the morning of the final day of the visit, the President and First Lady said farewell to the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh at Windsor Castle. Later that morning they visited the Royal Shakespeare Company, in Stratford-upon-Avon. The President and his wife also visited Coventry Cathedral and took a tour of the ruins of the old Cathedral. The final event of the visit was a