Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1956-11-02

The President spoke to you
about the Middle East crisis last
night. The networks have been
good enough to accord me time
to speak tonight, and I want to
tell you how this crisis came
about, this crisis which is SO
threatening to peace and to our
interest in this strategic area.
This matter should be above
politics-if anything can be a
few days before election-be-
cause all Americans suffer from
any failure of our foreign policy,
and from war anywhere in the
world; for in this hydrogen age
war is contagious.
have only a few moments
so let me hastily sum up the
central facts of the situation. ]
can find no better way to dc
this than to read you sentence
from a special dispatch from
Washington in today's New York
Times:
THE United States has lost
control of events in areas vital
to its security. This is the main
conclusion Of serious and we'll
informed men here tonight con-
corning the United States role
in the Middle East crisis"
Two Victories for Soviet
The condition which confronts
us is stark and simple-our Mid
die Eastern policy is at absolute
dead end. And the hostilities
going on tonight in which Israel
Egypt, Britain and France are
involved reflects the bankruptcy
Of our policy: and they have
given the Soviet Union two great
victories.
The first Communist victory is
the establishment in the Middle
East of the Russian influence
which the cars sought in vain
for centuries and which Com
munists have now achieved IN
a few months.
The second Communist victory
is the breakdown Of the Western
alliance. This has been a SUI
preme objective Of Soviet policy
since the end Of the Second
World War. -
AS the climax, the United
States finds itself arrayed in the
United Nations with Soviet Rus
STA and the dictator of Egypt
against the democracies of Bri-
tain, France and Israel.
A foreign policy which has
brought about this result-which
has benefited communism ano
has cut our own country off from
our democratic friends-is a for
eign policy which has failed.
And, at a time when the up
risings in Poland and Hungary
are opening the Soviet world to
freedom, the strategic Middle
East is opening to Communist
penetration.
Three Points
l have three points to make
tonight.
The first is that this series
Of failures could have been
averted-that they were in great
part the result of ill-considered
and mistaken policies Of this adj
ministration.
The second is that this adj
ministration not only made mis-
take after mistake in its Middle
Eastern policy, but has withheld
the consequences from the Amer
lean people.
The third is that there are
many things which might have
been done in the last year to
avert war in the Middle East.
The Middle East is one of the
most important strategic areas
in the world. It has three-quar-
tiers of the worlds known oil re-
serves, and it controls the land,
sea and air communications link
ing three continents. All nations
which have sought world domi-
nation have wanted to control
the Middle East.
When President Eisenhower
came to office in January, 1858,
Communist influence in the Mid
die East was at a low ebb. and
the area was more free of vio-
lence than 1t had been in years.
Dulles Gift to Naguib
Things changed.
Secretary Of State Dulles began
by giving Gen. Naguib - Col.
Nasser's predecessors pistol as
a personal gift from President
Eisenhower. The fateful symbol
ism Of this gift was not lost upon
Israel or the Arab states. 1t was
a token of a new policy called
'impartiality" between the Arab
states, on the one hand, and, on
the other. the new democracy OF
Israel whom they had vowed To
destroy and whom we and the
United Nations we're pledged to
defend.
Following this. and pursuing
the new policy Of trying to build
up Nasser as a bulwark of sta
bility In the Middle East, the
United States presumed the
British to evacuate their great
military base along the Suez
Canal without making any pro-
vision for international control
Of the canal.
Then Mr.. Dulles famed the
flames Of ambition, nationalism