Evening star., 1953-11-05
| Johnston S Mission
To Tense Middle East
Reported a Failure
By Peter Lisogor
Foreign Correspondent Of The Star and
the Chieaao Daily News

the Chicago Dolly News
Eric A. Johnston's mission to
the Middle East as special
envoy of President Eisenhower
has ended in almost unqualified
failure, it is reliably learned here.
Mr.. Johnston undertook his
journey three weeks ago, bent on
selling Israel and it's Arab neigh
bors on a cooperative water
power and irrigation scheme pat
termed on the American IVA.
Top American officials felt
this Jordan Valley development
project might prove key to the
solution of Arab-Israeli tensions
by relieving the economic plight
of some 100000 Arab refugees.
Mr.. Johnston was received
with cool formality, if not suspi-
cion, in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan
i and Egypt, according to diplo-
matte informantS. He received
a more sympathetic audience in
Israel.
Now En- Route Home.
The head of the Motion Pic
ture Association of America is
en- route home now with his sad
tale. Informed sources here have
reconstructed the strangely con-
ce'ved and arranged mission.
The administration tapped Mi.
Johnston, former president OF
the United States Chamber OF
Commerce and economic Stabl-
lizer under the Truman admins
tration, because it wanted a
high grade salesman"
His mission was such tightly
guarded secret that both the
Isla aeli and the four Arab Ernbas-
sizes here first learned of it
through a newspaper "leak," the
day after Mr.. Johnston departed.
To preserve this secrecy, Mr..
Johnston did not apply at the
Embassies here for visas to visit
the foreign countries, but ap-
parently waited until he reached
Paris.
Had Sought Survey.
Mr.. Johnston himself is said
to have wanted secrecy so that
he could begin to present his
package to the interested parties
before any criticism could be
built up on either side.
Arab representatives here and
in New York are understood to
have registered spontaneous
reaction when they heard about
it. They suspected Mr.. john
ston's "impartiality," according
to informants, because of his as
sociation with the motion pic
ture industry in which there are
many supporters of the state OF
Israel.
They also discovered that Mr..
Johnston had been a member,
back before the state Of Israel
was created, of a group known
as the American Christian Pal
estine Committee, which they
regarded as pro-zionist.
This, to the Arab mind, dis
qualified Mr.. Johnston for even
a non-political assignment.
The word apparently went out
quickly and when Mr.. Johnston
arrived in the Middle East GUS
toner resistance among the
Arabs was firmly established.
Ran AfOul of Crisis.
The Johnston mission, quite
by coincidence, ran afoul of the
Kibya border incident, which
plunged the area into crisis and
spoiled the timing.
In short, according to in
formed officials, Mr.. Johnston
started out under handicap
and arrived to show his wares,
| so TO speak, at CIle WOISC POSo1o1C
time. A series of polite d1plo-
matte rebuffs followed.
The plan for a TVA-like prof.
ect on the Jordan River about
which Mr.. Johnston m a d e
soundings calls for a regional
hydroelectric and irrigation prof.
ect which none of the countries
by itself, could afford to develop.
AS a joint project, however. it is
thought to have great economic
potential for the whole region
But the political obstacles, as
Mr.. Johnston discovered, render
impossible any such co-opera-
tive venture at this time.