Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1957-01-04
New Project on Nile
Under Study by U.
Continued From First Page


Of Middle East and African ma
ticns.
The accent would be or
RECONCILIATION - on multilatera
projects rather than bilateraI
oneS-in all the economic de-
velopment projects the admin
stration has in mind for the
Near East.
This is because the solution
tdsthe areas economic problems
is \ basically water. The develop.
able rivers in the area do moi
confine themselves to national
boundaries.
Two other major riparian
projects which the United States
would like to see started in the
Near East are the long planned
Jordan River development,
which would be a boon to Israel,
Jordan and Syria, and the ex-
pansion of the igris-Euphrates
development, now confined to
Iraq but potentially able to bene-
fit Syria as well.
Besides these there are other
less spectacular opportunities for
nations of the Middle East to CO.
operate, in such projects as
locust control. mineral develop
ment. perhaps oil exploitation
and international transportation
Work on transportation links
might be the first to get started
in any new program backed by
American aid. Highways would
be needed to bring heavy equip
ment to river development sites
And political rivalrieS would not
get in the way of road builders
who could start their work with
out the kind of firm interna-
tional agreements necessary for
water development.
AT O0dS POsltlcaIly
Up to now nations in the area
have refused to submerge their
political differences to get on
with the most important of these
urgently needed economic i'm
provement programs.
The United States adminiStra-
tons hope is that it can capital
lie on its increased stature in the
Middle East at this moment in
history, when Britain and France
have lost most of their influence
there, to persuade nations of the
area to do things they have re-
fused to do in the past. -.
The Nile project preserves the
principal desirable features of the
old Aswan Dam project and APP
plies them to more people.
Living standards in the three
countries and two territories can
be improved. Availability of food
and agricultural products can be
increased through irrigation.
Power generators can supply cleo
tricity for start on industriali-
cation there.
AT the same time some Of the
features Of the Aswan Dam prof.
ect which the United States
found Objectionable are missing
from the Nile plan as now con-
ceived.
FavOritism Charged
One undesirable by-product OF
Aswan-and other bilateral aid
agreements in the Near East
has been that America came to
be accused of playing favorites
with Egypt, as against other
African or Arab states: or with
Israel, or Iraq or Saudi Arabia,
as against their Arab rivals.
BY emphasizing the regional
aspects of its aid. the United
States hopes to avoid accusa-
tons that 1t chooses sides in
Arab-1srael and inter-Arab bick-
erings.
A principal United States rea-
son for pulling out of the Aswan
project was its loss of confidence
that the Egyptian economy
would bear up under the strain
o. SO gigantic project. Cairo's
share would have been about
5000 million over 16 years.
Less Economic Strain
Egypt's share in a regional Nile
development is expected to be
smaller. because the whole prof.
ect probably would proceed at a
slower rate. Thus less strain on
the shaky Egyptian economy
would be involved.
There is no thought of reviv-
ing the Aswan Dam project itself,
high officials here have stressed.
The economic reason indicated
by the State Department last
July still stands.
on Capitol Hill. meanwhile,
indications mounted that the
Senate Foreign Relations Com
mittee intended to give the new
Eisenhower plan for the Near
East a thorough going over be-
fore 1t finally acts. The consen-
suS still was. however, that the