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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 22, 1959)
MAIL TRIBUNE, Medford. Oregon, Sunday, Ftbrury 22, 195 S Moddlle mfc Pmvevs Moke Umpoirtoo Shos Whose Job ioKeep Peace in Area Is Topic for Program (Editor's note: This is the fourth in a series of Great ' Decisions program discus sions. Today's topic is "Peace in the Middle Easl Whose Job?" The discus sion information is pre pared by the general ex tension division, Oregon state system of higher edu cation, in cooperation with the Foreign Policy associa tion. New York.) The political and military lineup of powers in the Mid dle East has undergone some important shifts in the last ' six months-not only between East and West, but also with in the Arab bloc. This picture has become even more con fused in the past few weeks as the Mid-East power con test reached out to neighbor ing Iran, and aroused concern in Turkey and Pakistan as well as in Western capitals. The always fluid Middle Eastern situation has never been more uncertain, experts agree. The July 14 revolution in Iraq and the simmering civil war in Lebanon removed from power two governments committeed to the West. U.S. troop landings in Lebanon failed to accomplish any last ing political objectives for the West, most observers agree, although simultaneous British intervention in Jordan is believed to have saved the pro -Western government of King Hussein. Serious Blow to West One of the most serious blows to Western strategy in this part of the world was Iraq's virtual rejection in mid-February of the Western sponsored Baghdad pact. This military alliance linked Iraq (the only Arab member) with the NATO powers, Turkey and Britain; with the South east Asia treaty partner Pak istan; and with Iraq's pro- Western neighbor, Iran. I he United States, although not a formally a member, has been a vigorous supporter of the pact and participates in all ! its committees. Iraq's rejection of alliances with non-Arab nations is an obvious blow to the Baghdad Pact. At the same time, Iraq has turned to Moscow for military and economic aid. An estimated 15,000 to 20,- 000 tons of Russian arms have already arrived in Iraq. It is this combination of fac tors which raises alarm amonz the pact nations. Iraq's Communist-financed military build up, and grow ing Communist influence in Iraq's economic and perhaps political life, are disturbing to Turkey and to Iran be cause 'of the recently revived "Kurdistan" question. Semi-nomadic People The Kurds are a semi- nomadic people scattered among Turkey, Syria, Iraq, Iran and the Soviet Union. The revolutionary constitu tion of Iraq recognizes the "national rights" of these people a policy which, if brought to its logical conclu sion, could lead to the par tial dismemberment of some Middle Eastern nations. Many observers detect Moscow's hand in current agitation for Kurdish nationalism. Recent developments have also produced new stresses within the Arab bloc. As the revolutionary government in Iraq has leaned further in Moscow's direction, the Unit ed Arab Republic of Egypt and Syria seems to have had second thoughts about its long long friendly relations with Moscow. Since 1955 President Gam al Abdel Nasser has depend ed heavily on the Soviet bloc for arms, markets for Egyp tian cotton and economic as sistance. Communist party ac tivity in Egypt and Syria has been sharply restricted throughout this period, but not until recently has the UAR permitted open criti cism of Moscow's "interfer ence" in Arab internal af fairs. It is difficult, in other words, if not dangerous, to try to explain current Middle Eastern developments in sim ple terms. In one sense, the contest is between East and West, for influence if not dominance in the area. In an other sense, the issue is be tween various Arab leaders and interests. The challenge to the West is to sort out the various pieces, and to develop policies to deal with the total complex problem Arab na tionalism as well as commu nism; regional economic prob lems as well as military ques tions. Arab Nationalism Nasser has long been iden tified as the chief spokesman and inspirational leader of Arab nationalism-a program which, in his mind, will ulti mately unite the Arabic speaking peoples of Africa and the Middle East, from the Atlantic to the Persian Gulf. Nasser's leadership of Pan Arabism has been acknowl edged by Algerian revolution aries, Tunisian politicians and even by spokesmen for the feudel government of Saudi Arabia. His leadership rests primarily, however, on his appeal to the masses through out the Arab world. The revolutionary regime in Iraq has been equivocal in this respect. Known pro-Nasser elements in the Army and government have been purg ed and in some cases, brought to trial. Recent cabinet shake ups and military and econom ic aid deals with Moscow, in the opinion of Western ob servers, have actually moved Iraq further from the Nasser camp and closer to the So viet Union. Balancing the Trend As if to balance this trend, Nasser's controlled press has launched its first vigorous Today & Tomorrow By Walter THE WESTERN INVITATION At least in its method the Allied note to the Soviet Un ion, which was published this m weeK, is new TsL " It is an invi tation to hold a conference about Ger- m a n y which does not lay down in ad vance what nan Ko a n ? Walter " " 7 Lippmann what cann o t be discussed, what must be agreed to. This does not mean that the Allies no longer have posi tions from which they will not retreat, as for example that they will not withdraw their troops in West Berlin until the whole of Berlin be comes once again the capital of a reunited Germany. The novelty and the difference in the present approach is that the note is not a broad side in a -propaganda game but a simple and uncondition al invitation to confer and to negotiate. This would not have been possible if the Western pow ers had not reached the con clusion that there are in fact subjects to negotiate about. Behind the simple words of the note there lies the fact that we have now agreed among ourselves that we can protect our vital interests in Europe while we negotiate on a number of subjects which have until recently been re garded as untouchable.' This is the so-called new flexibility. It covers, for ex ample, the idea that reunifi cation need not begin with free elections although some day the reunited Germany must have free elections. It covers the idea that it is pos sible to negotiate de facto with the East German state. It covers the idea that it is possible to discuss a regional agreement for the reduction and limitation of armaments in Central Europe. - . WE MUST now wait to see how the Kremlin reacts. It can accept the invitation to confer and negotiate, re serving its own position for the conference which must, if it is to be at all useful, be carried on confidentially in the preliminary and explora tory stages. Or the Kremlin can issue a new public broad side of its demands and its terms, in which case it will be painfully clear that the Kremlin does . not now want to negotiate. Or the Russians can negotiate confidentially, say through Mr. Macmillan or through diplomatic chan nels, about the circumstances of the conference to which the West has invited them. . Let us hope that in making FIRST FEDERAL SAVINGS & LOAN ASSOCIATION of Medford Will Be Closed Monday In Honor of Washington's Birthday !ks 0 'Ssisovinv VSunion "7t?n.s.a foigo5iS, "A?iiE Ixy&a isael-p ;y EE i SSpDAN jan 1 1 1 1 1 1 llliij jAA.lA MUSCAT H. V,J ,ANO WIST -Y rn. 5PMAH . AFRICA fev.-.v-l flTTTFADEN7 , I niTtAvmtM-- rX fRtNCH EE$u5anEE? ' BZCl. : ' ytQUATQRlAlA, f Tf" t f J AFRICA L Zjf ETHIOPIA SffrwfAitfQJ BELGIAN 77 KENYA f rrrn C0N0 r$ y &tm Swi mtijjj i.rJ S. criticism of Communist med dling in the internal political affairs of the Arab states. At the same time, Cairo propa ganda against the "imperial ist" western powers was no ticeably softened. There has been no obvious breach in political or econom ic relations between Cairo Lippmann up their minds how to react the Russians will not draw the wrong conclusion from the fact of Secretary Dulle's illness. The wrong conclusion would be that the less Mr. Dulles is able to participate, the more flexible and the more disunited will be West ern policy. The exact opposite is the truth. The less able Mr. Dulles is to over-see Ameri can and Allied policy and to cover it with his special au thority, the more rigid will be the American position, the more intransigent will be Mr. Adenauer. It is Mr. Dulles who has made possible the new flexibility in Western policy, and much may depend upon whether Mr. Mikoyan realized that when he was here and has made it plain to Mr. Khrushchev. THE Russians could easily misunderstand this crucial fact. They have their own long standing stereotype that Mr. Dulles is unyielding and implacable. They have high ly simplified views of human character and of human be havior, and they have a rathr er dangerously simpl i f i e d view of Mr. Dulles, who is in fact a complicated man. The Russians may not be able to appreciate quickly enough that their view of Mr. Dulles as a mbnolithic character is a mistaken one. They may be confirmed in their prejudice by much that is being printed in this coun try. In many quarters Mr. Dulles ,is being pictured as a kind of granite monument which never chances and never bends no matter what the winds that blow. This is mythology, and although it is intended as adulation, it does less than justice to this world ly .and experienced man. The myth has little relation to the fact that John Foster Dulles is and always has been a very practical man who measures the strength of the forces about him and sets his course accordingly. TF THE Kremlin does not misjudge the situation, there will be a conference. If there is one, it is, of course, imrjrobable. indeed ble, that the conference will produce a grand settlement of the German Question. But. on the other hand, once both sides commit themselves to a conference, thev cannot break it up in total and in angry disagreement without running the gravest risks. Once they meet, they cannot do less than to work out ar rangements about Berlin and the two Germanvs which. though tentative and provi sional, could evolve in the course of time into somethins more acceptable and more permanent. Copyright 1959. New York Herald Tribune Inc. and Moscow. Nor have Cairo's relations with . the West returned to pre-Suez war normality although a number of outstanding eco nomic issues have been re solved through negotiation. In the rest of the Arab world, Nasser's pan-Arabism has made little progress m the last six months. A jointly financed regional develop ment bank was launched by the Arab league (excluding Iraq) on Jan. 12, and some re gional economic cooperation will undoubtedly follow. But there have been no political moves toward Arab unity since the kingdom of Yemen federated itself with the Unit ed Arab Republic of Egypt and Syria, March 8, 1958. Grumbling Heard There has, in fact, been some grumbling among dissi dent politicians in the Syrian Try and Stop Me -By BENNETT CERF "POSH" is a very British word indeed, defined by Webster as -f "smart and elegant in appearance." Know its origin? -Well, in the good old days, when British aristocrats were boarding ships to go and rule India, the legend, was that they should book cabins on the port side on the way out (thereby getting the shady side on the hot trip through the Suez Canal) and, by the same token, nail down star board cabins on the way home. In other words, "Port Outside, Starboard Home," and the abbreviation, P-O-S-H, became identified with the top dogs of the for eign service. All clear? Mr. Haydn's wife left the house to take the family car out of the garage. A moment later he heard a horrendous crash. "Did you knock it down ?" he called fear fully. "No," she called back, "just over." 1959, by Bennett Cert Distributed by Ring Feature Syndicate Wow-ee! Another Lura McGuire, 909 4th Street, Medford, receives $100 check from Phyllis Pesenti, KMED Women's Director. Lura correctly identified the KMED Mystery Memory Tunes. You, too, can win 100.00 CASH On KM ED'S "Better Music" Mystery Tune CONTEST Sponsored by BURELSON'S Tune KMED for Details ECSV3EG3) NBC "Medford's Memory Music Station" province of the UAR. And many observers believe that the military coup in the Su dan last November success fully sidetracked pro-Nasser forces in that country. Moves and counter - moves among Arab leaders, in other words, leave unanswered such questions as the future course-or leadership-of pan Arabism, and the role Mos cow is playing in this rivalry. Nasser's new friendliness to the West prompts some ex perts to recommend taking advantage of this turn of events, and to use Nasser as a counterweight to Commu nist pressures and influence in the area. Others point out that Nasser has proved, even to Moscow, that he is not easy to '"use," and that he is still tied militarily and economi cally to Moscow. Yet another group argues that Nasser is near the end of the road as dominant Arab leader-that Western interests would not be served by prop ping him up economically or politically. Policy To Be Willing It is apparently present U.S. policy to be willing to "normalize" what our rela tions with Cairo, to. negotiate regarding the release of froz en Egyptian funds in this country, and to consider the resumption of modest aid pro grams for community devel opment in Egypt. The State department also welcomed the shift in Cairo's propagan da line. None of this, how ever, has been construed as warmth or eagerness on Washington's part. U. S. policies toward Iraq are equally difficult to proj ect. Iraq's withdrawal from the Baghdad Pact is obvious ly a blow at the pact's origi nal conception-an unbroken "northern tier" of allies, stretching from the Mediter- idltr KMED Winner! 1440 w7? rsti JfNL ranean to Pakistan in South Asia, and insulating the Arab Middle East from Soviet bor der pressure. On the other hand, observ ers point out that the Bagh dad pact did not prevent the Soviet Union from "leapfrog ging" into it; arms-for-cotton deal with Nasser, nor has it prevented growing Commu nist pressure from within the Arab states-the kind of pres sure now apparent in Iraq, and which the Cairo press has recently criticized in regional terms. Concept Outlined The original concept of the Baghdad pact, in other words, may have outlived its useful ness under any circum- stances. Military security against aggression, however, remains a major concern in Washington, and in the capi tals of Turkey, Iran and Pak istan. During January confer ences of the Baghdad Fact Ministerial council, in Kara chi, the United States rein forced its commitments to help defend Turkey, Iran and Pakistan from external Com munist aggression. Turkey and Iran in particular, how ever, are just as concerned about , aggression which may be neither Communist nor ex ternal. Any military explosion in the Middle East - whether a Kurdish nationalist rebellion or a conflict between Arab states-could spread quickly, involving possibly Israel, and perhaps other neighboring states. Russian arms and agi tation contribute to both the possibility and the danger of such developments. Automatic Defeat Furthermore, any close partnership between an Arab nationalist government and Moscow-short of actual Com munist take over-is an auto matic defeat- of Western ob We $500 Trade ; Look for fy . END-O- HlfjB MONTH i LlzM I TAGSf J SEE THIS WEEK'S "SUPER SPECIAL" IN OUR DISPLAY WINDOW O m mm m m m a mm jectives in the region. Yet either of these two pos sibilities is covered by pres ent U.S. commitments to Tur key, Iran, Israel or any other Middle Eastern nation. An en tirely new treaty would be required, the State depart ment points out, unless the "aggression" is clearly spon sored by "international com munism." Washington has offered no new treaty. In recent weeks, however, the United States successfully discouraged Iran from negotiating a new non aggression treaty and eco nomic aid agreement with the Soviet Union. Military, Economic Aid The Soviet Union is using both military aid and econom ic assistance, as well as inter nal Communist agitation, to gain influence in the Middle East. The West has also used military and economic assist ance to maintain its influence and to restrain Communist penetration. The present level of East West competition, according to many observers, may leave the United States no alterna tive but stepped-up invest ments on both fronts -military and economic. Even if U.S. policy makers were to adopt this approach, they would still face other difficult questions. For exam ple, what is a proper balance between military and eco nomic aid? How much -in long-range terms-can actually be accomplished by military agreements, in view of the festering economic and poli tical problems of the region? 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