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
Pope Francis's visit to the Baltic states The visit to the Baltic states was confirmed in a Holy See press release on 9 March 2018. In Lithuania, the pope visited Vilnius and Kaunas. Pope Francis arrived at the airport in Lithuania's capital of Vilnius on September 22, where he was welcomed by Lithuania's President Dalia Grybauskaite and other political and civilian representatives. He later spoke outside the Presidential palace, where he noted how both Nazi and Soviet occupations weakened religious tolerance in the country and honored "martyrs" who died during these occupations. He also called for unity between Catholics, Lutherans, and followers of Eastern Orthodox in the