It was shortly thereafter that they formed this war cabinet. This has been done before, in the Korean War, I'm sure, but in this case, because there were so many aspects involved.... It's an all-government affair when we do that. Think about it. All the ministers have a role to play, but by doing that, it also brings the decision-makers together, the key decision-makers, so that when an issue comes up.... In this case, it could have been on going for the sweep and escort, going above that certain line in the gulf. In fact, the best example would have been the sweep and escort.
I'm sure you don't know what a sweep and escort is. Neither did the members of the war cabinet at the time, so when I saw that this was going to happen, I talked to the people in Ottawa. They went to the war cabinet and said, “Gentlemen, they're potentially going to ask us to do sweep and escort. Here's what 'sweep' is. Here's what 'escort' is.” After it was explained to them, they understood it and they gave permission, or delegated authority, to the chief of the defence staff, saying, “We understand what you're talking about and when in fact they ask for that, you have the authority to tell them you can do it.”