Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1957-03-01
Don't Wreck It Now

AAtcI Weeks Oh DANGER ana uncer-
tainty, it looks as though an opportunity
is emerging for constructive settlement
IN the Middle East. Israel appears ready
to withdraw her troops from Egypt, and
II this Is done it will at least be possible
to make start toward the larger ad-
1ustments which must be made If peace
and security are to be established in
this vital area Of the world
In view Of this, it will be all the
more tragic If the Senate Democrats pick
this time to cut the heart out Of the
Eisenhower Mideast program, and there
by throw away an opportunity which
may never return.
There ought to be no illusions about
the amendment which is being sponsored
by Democratic Senators Russell, Stennis
and Byrd. If adopted, this amendment
will wreck the Eisenhower program by
denying the President special authority
to spend 5000 million in the Middle East.
This fund is needed to get started on a
program OF economic rehabilitation in
the area program designed to reduce
the danger Of Communist subverSion and
thereby lessen the ultimate risk OF war.
II the President is to be denied this au-
thority, we think 1t might be well to scrap
his program in its entirety. For the
effect Of adopting this amendment, in
our opinion, would be to increase the
danger Of war in the Middle East. What
sense does it make to assume a special
responsibility for the military defense of
the Middle East If the Senate by turning
thumbs down on essential economic
weapons, is going to make subversion and
war more likely?
Senator Byrd has said that adoption
OF the Eisenhower program may cost the
taxpayers billions of dollars" But there
IS nothing in the resolution which would
do anything Of the sort. All it does is to
authorize the President to spend 5000
million already appropriated. True, Mr..
Eisenhower has indicated that, if sue
ceSSful start can be made, he will ask
for more money-perhaps $500 million
IN the future. Any such request will have
TO be approved by Congress. however, and
Congress will be free to reject it If it does
not believe that the outlook for success
OF the program, at the time the request
IS made, justifies approval This would
oe quite different thing from wrecking
the program at the outset, without giving
it chance to succeed
We hope that the Senators and the
taxpayers will take notice Of the report
OF survey which has just been COM
2leted by experts from the MaSsachu-
sets Institute Of Technology. This study
was made at the request OF a special
Senate committee set up to review the
foreign aid program, and the findings
are significant.
The NIT team concluded that If the
United States had made a serious offer
to help Egypt, even after Colonel Nasser
had come to power, it is conceivable that
Egypt today would be model for the
Middle East. 1t also concluded that as
result Of our failure to make a. serious
commitment, sit became virtually in
evitable that NasSer and his colleagues
would choose the other path, the path
Of pan-Arab adventurism."
Do the Democratic Senators think it
will be to the advantage Of the United
States to drive Egypt and other Mideast
countries still farther down this path,
and, eventually perhaps, into the arms OF
Russia? This is what adoption Of the
Russell-Stennis-Byrd amendment may
be expected to do