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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (March 6, 1960)
'ecanousness of Middle last Peace Is Recent Skirmishes Remind World of Unsettled Area (Editor's note: This is an other in series of discus sions in the Great Decisions ... 1960 program. Material is furnished by the Foreign Policy association of New York City. Today's discus sion is on the subject: "War or Peace in the Middle East?") Recent Arab-Israeli mili tary skirmishes - on Israeli's border with the Syrian prov ince of the United Arab Re public - remind the world of the precariousness of Middle Eastern peace. - War has, in fact, broken out twice in this region in the past 12 years. In mid-Febru ary of this year UN Secretary General Dag Hammarskjold suggested that "deteriorating conditions might justify Se curity Council intervention to prevent a third Middle East ern conflict. Military units of the UN Emergency Force have been stationed along Israeli's bor der with Egypt - the other half of the United Arab Re public since the Israeli in vasion of the Sinai Peninsula In 1956. The UN presence is, however, largely symbolic. If full-scale hostilities were to break out, either through aggression or through the ac- U.SJCommunist Economic Aid to tho Middle East AFRICA IIRITREAViYEMtNlav equator i alV f t?P i I y AFR'CA ETHIOPIA -yt I S somalTai I ! UGANDA v - i y BELGIAN 5 "J KENYA I f Westtm Sam O U. S. M - eh U.S. SmlM MAIL TRIBUNE, Medford, Or. A Sunday, March 6. 1960 cidental expansion of raids and skirmishes, existing UN forces would no doubt be help less. Peace Maintained Arab-Israeli peace will be maintained, experts agree, only if the Arab and Israeli governments have the will to keep it - or, in the last resort, if the great powers intervene and enforce peace at the point of a gun. The United States has made it clear, as recently as the summer of 1958, that it is will ing to use its military power any load Vs the cost! VW DELIVERY VAM-Capacity -1830 p6und or 170 euble fact VW MICRO BUS -9 passangara travat In comfort ..room for 1C suiteaiaa. VW PICKUP-65 tq ft. of floor ' apaca. .all sides let down. VW KOMBI-Converts from truck to 9-passenger bus in minutes. These rugged Volkswagen Transporters haul 170 cubic feet of cargo 25 carefree miles on a tinglt gallon of gas! Their operating economy, low initial cost, and multiple utility mean added profits for any business. Stop at your Volkswagen dealer today. Take a test ride. Check the facts and figures. Learn why Volkswagen Transporters are first in economy on the highways of America ! Morse Motors 6th and Ivy, Medford to maintain a degree of bal ance and stability in the area. The yet-to-be-invoked "Eisen hower Doctrine of early 1958, and the landing of U.S troops in Lebanon in July of that year, were both design ed to discourage international Communism or Communist in spired Arabism from subvert ing such relatively weak Arab states as Lebanon or Jordan. Earlier U.S. policy state ments, made jointly with Bri tain and France, suggest that the U.S. would similarly use its power to prevent an Arab conquest of Israel. Intentions Less Clear J Soviet intentions are less clear. Generally, in recent years, the Soviet Union has sided with the Arab states in their disputes with Israel. Most authorities feel, on the other hand, that the Soviet Union would not, at this time, welcome another Arab-Israeli war. Two reasons are advanced for this view. First, the Soviet Union probably gives a higher priority to its negotia tions with the U.S. and its al lies, particularly on such deli cate questions as Berlin, Ger many and disarmament. War in the Middle East would only distract from a diplomacy of peaceful co existence. A Middle Eastern war which involved the great powers might disrupt the whole Communist timetable for East-West negotiations. Second, an Arab-Israeli war might upset the Communist time table for the Middl East. According to this view, the Soviet Union recognizes the instability of rival Arab re gimes and would rather work with the existing power bal ance, however precarious, than risk a new power struc ture in which Communist in fluence might be reduced. If these interpretations are sound - if both the Democratic and Communist powers prefer to see the Middle East at peace then the question of peace or war rests primarily with the governments of Mid dle Eastern countries, Arab and Israeli. Arab-Israeli Issues The issues dividing Israel and its Arab neighbors are deep and emotion-laden. The brief 1948 war, in which Is rael's armies won nationhood against enormous odds, has technically never ended Only an armistice has been signed. The Arab states have refus ed to accept UN resolutions which led to the establish ment of an Israeli nation, and have rebuffed all subsequent : attempts, by the UN and the great powers, to conclude a peace treaty recognizing Is real's sovereignty and terri tory. It is Arab policy to boycott Israel diplomatically and eco nomically. Ships bound to and from Israel are barred from the U.A.R. - controlled Suez Canal. Regional development plans for joint use of the waters of the Jordan and other rivers have been frustrated by Arab save by the 10th and earn from the 1st 0 126 EAST MAIN Medford, Oro. ASHLAND BRANCH 337 East Main Ashland, Ort. Iff. refusal to negotiate these questions with Israel,, and by Israel's plans to go it alone in utilizing the Jordan waters. The problem of the Palestine Arab refugees (who fled what is now Israel during the 1948 hostilities) continues to fester as the two sides fail to find any mutually agreeable basis for negotiation. Compensate Boycott Israel has, in part, compen sated for the Arab boycott. Since the 1956 Sinai war, Is rael has had the use of the port and gulf of Aqaba, lead ing into the Red Sea, in addi tion to its original ports on the Mediterranean. It has also developed trade and technical assistance rela tions with African and Asian nations, such as Ghana and Burma, and has growing ac cess to foreign goods and cap ital needed for the develop ment of the Israeli economy. Peace, and time to build the nation as an integral part of the Middle Eastern economy, are apparently fundamental goals of Israeli policy. Yet war is an ever-present threat. Persistent Egyptian border raids triggered Israel in 1956 into a major military campaign on the Sinai Penin sula. Skirmishes, such as re cent clashes on the Syrian border, could again explode into major hostilities, some observers fear. Equal Deep Interest The Arab states, on the other hand, may have an equally deep interest in avoid ing war, and for some of the same reasons. The fundamen tal needs of all the peoples of Benevolent Firms Believed Formed, Operated Illegally i - The Portland Better Busi ness Bureau feels' 14 benevo lent societies operating in Ore gon were illegally organized and operated, according to Don McNeil, Medford Cham ber of Commerce manager. In July, 1959, as a result of complaints filed with various state offices, Attorney Gener al Robert Y. Thornton com menced actions in the Marion county circuit court involving these benevolent societies, the bureau reported in its month ly bulletin to McNeil and oth er chamber managers. Organizations listed were Benevolent Order of America, United America, Inc., Home State Benevolent association, Pioneer Pacific, Inc., Benevo lent Order of Countrymen, The Countrymen Society, Inc., The. Independent Country men, American Countrymen association, Inc., Oregon Ben evolent Society, Inc., West ern Benefit Society, Western Mutual Benefit . association, Western States Services, Inc., Order of the Golden Cross, and The United Benevolent Society. Receives Inquiries The Medford Chamber of Commerce has received the most inquiries on the Benevo lent Order of America, Benev olent Order of Countrymen, Oregon Benevolent Society, Inc., and Western Mutual Benefit association. The Portland Better Busi ness Bureau said the com plaints alleged were that the organizations were not frater nal benefit societies, had no lodge or ritualistic system, vi olated the law which says no person shall be paid commis sions, salary for obtaining members, fail to qualify un der the insurance law, but claim to do so, corporate funds had been misused, multiple corporations had been formed to evade the $300 insurance limit, irresponsible ageatt had been hired and great numbers of elderly people were being wrongfully deprived of lim ited means, and the insurance schemes offered were not sound and were outside of any govern mental supervision needed for protection, of the public. Richard Allen, Masonic building, Salem, has been ap pointed by the circuit court as a monitor to supervise the so ciety activities, the attorney general reported. Anyone having a dispute with these organizations should first try to settle his difficulty with the organiza tion before taking it to the monitor, he said. Individuals may also take legal action on their own, but should try to settle the problem with the organization first, the attor ney general suggested. - u 111 " Poison Oak? Try a Bottle of ZEMACCl Tou musf bt satisfied or yew money cheerfully refunded. Get a bottle today at WESTIRN THRIFT the area can be met only with some acceleration of economic growth to provide food, jobs and better living standards for growing populations. , The United Arab Republic of Egypt and Syria is. placing increased , attention on inter nal economic development, and has begun to mend its dip lomatic and. economic rela tions with the Western dem ocracies during the past year. In doing so, the UJV..R. ap parently hopes to reduce its heavy dependence on the Communist bloc for trade and aid, and - to "normalize" its economic and political rela tions with the rest of the world. ' Many observers thus feel that U.A.R. President Gamal Abdel Nasser also wants peace, and time to develop the linked economies of Egypt and Syria. According to this view, Nasser's economic gro.wth goals take precedence over any ambitions he may have for expanding his Pan-Arab empire. ; 5 - -. Similar Arguments - Similar arguments are ad vanced to show that other Arab leaders also need peace in order to meet the economic demands of their peoples -particularly in Lebanon, Jor dan and Iraq. , Yet all this may be wishful thinking, says another school of thought. Economic develop ment may be a widespread Middle Eastern goal, and peace may be a necessary condition for reaching this goal. But the bitter issues di viding Israel and the Arab states, and the sometimes equally bitter rivalries among such Arab leaders as Nasser and Kassim, are too explosive to be dismissed. Even if no one in a position of responsibility wants war, war can still come - by acci dent, miscalculation, misman agement of an incident, or fear. And, experts warn, an Arab-Israeli war might well explode into something larger. One possibly is a sideline war among Arab states jock eying for spoils or territory. Another possibility is great power involvement, in an ef fort to protect Democratic or Communist "interests" in the region. The whole world, according to this view, has vital stakes in preserving Middle Eastern peace, however precarious this peace may be. The alter natives are too dangerous. Arab Rivalries ' The chief Arab rivalry, ac cording to most observers, is that between Nasser of Egypt and Kassim or Iraq. The 1958 Iraqi revolution, which brought Kassim to power, had several significant effects on the Middle East power bal ance. First, Iraq withdrew . from the Western - sponsored, anti Communist military alliance, the Baghdad Pact (now Cen tral Treaty Organization). Up to this point Iraq was the only Arab country with member ship in the pact. Second, and as a possible corollary, Iraq turned to the Communist bloc for military and economic as sistance, and allowed Iraqi Communists to operate above ground. These developments repre sented a net gain for Com munism and a net loss for democratic interests in the re gion. In addition, these devel opments represented a set back for Nasser's Pan-Arab goals. Principal Symbol Up to the point of the Iraqi revolution, Nasser was the principal symbol and spokes man for "Arab unity.',' He ap peared, to be making progress toward federation-or at least greatly increased cooperation -among some of the Arab states. v - The unification of Egypt and Syria in the U.A.R. was one step in this direction. Ye men's "association" with the U.A.R. was another. A top lev el shift in the Saudi Arabian government brought that na tion into closer harmony with Nasser's Pan-Arab policies. Topic for Discussion During the summer of 1958, Nasser was intensifying prop aganda pressures on Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq, and contrib uting to the instability of the governments in these coun tries. Then came the Iraqi revolu tion. Kassim flatly rejected Nasser's invitation to join the U.A.R., turned to the com munist bloc for aid, and now steers an independent policy in Arab affairs. An import ant element of this policy is ridicule and hostility toward Nassers Pan-Arabism. Kassim, has, in fact, re vived the old "fertile cres cent" version of Pan-Arabism. This would be a federation of Arab peoples stretching from what is now the Syrian prov ince of the U.A.R., along the valleys of the Tigris and Eu phrates, to include Iraq. Two Capitals The goal of Pan-Arabism thus has two capitals, Cairo and Baghdad. The rest of the Arab world is now attempting to deal with the realities of this rivalry, Nor is the choice an easy one. To some Arab peoples the chief danger is the role that communism is or may be playing in the Kassim government. (Recently Kassim has cur tailed communist activity in Iraq.) To others, such as Jordan's political leaders, the problem is how that country can pre serve its identity midway be tween the Nasser-Kassim pow er centers. In some respects Middle Eastern politics have grown more, not less, complex in the past two years; cold war rival ries create a whole new di mension; the explosiveness of some new issues is more, not less, dangerous. The unan swered question is whether or not this trend will eventu ally bring a greater restraint and maturity to the govern ments of the region. Until this millenium ar rives, many observers now agree, the great powers have an inescapable responsibility to buy time and enforce peace in the area-through co operation, through direct pres sures, or through the UN. Furthermore, whatever the great powers do to reduce tensions, encourage Middle Eastern cooperation, and pro mote economic and social de velopment in the area may be no more than a gamble on the uncertain future stability of the region. The justification for taking the gamble may be that, to fail to do so, is to court disaster for Middle East ern peace, and perhaps for world peace. TV,Cn?A Burk's Pre-Season mm sale y-1 until March 15! When warm weather arrives this year you'll be ready for it! No rush-season waiting . . ESTABLISHED 1896 ( no hurry-up choice of color H77 or fabricl Installed the day ' WlfY I you want them. 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