Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1957-01-14
Moscow and the Middle East

In its first full-dress official state
ment on the subject, the Kremlin has
attacked President EiSenhowerS proposed
program for the Middle East with a
typical potpourri of gross distortions and
downright lies. This is not surprising.
For the program, with its provisions for
economic aid and its proclamation of
American readiness to use armed force
against overt Communist aggression, is
frankly designed to promote peace by
thwarting the burning and deadly So
Wet ambition to penetrate, dominate and
enSlave the whole region. So Moscows
Wrathful reaction is quite understandable.
1t may be doubted, however, that this
reaction will impress the Middle East as
much as the Kremlin hopes it will. At
any rate, more than a few leaders in
the Arab states-where Hungarian events
have not gone unnoticed-have already
indicated that they have a lively and
friendly interest in what the President
has proposed Judging from what they
have said so far, they obviously do not
agree with the Soviet charge that his
program emissions fragrant interference"
In their national affairs, or that it would
restore the former colonial order" or
that it 'can lead to dangerous conse-
quences" because it is "a serious threat
to the peace" Actually, how can it be
such threat unless Moscow itself I'M
leasheS some overt act of aggression?
And why, then, should Moscow rail
against it?
BY the same token, no knowing Arab
has the slightest reason to repose faith
in the Kremlin's assertion that 1t has no
COMMUNICATING aims, but works only
for peace in the Middle East Here the
knowing Arab, the adult and informed
Arab, must smile wryly For nothing
could be clearer than Moscow's persistent
effort for years past to stir up trouble in
the area and keep it stirred up. Above
all, who can doubt that Russia today, just
as in czariSt times, yearns to win mastery
over the entire region? Men like Colonel
NasSer, for example, even If they some
times seem to forget the aduonition to
use long-handled spoon when supping
with the devil, must surely remember
or ought to-that Molotov, during the
Nazi-Russian alliance, demanded of Hit
Ter in 1910 that he enter upon a deal
divvying up the world in way that would
recognize "the area south of Batum and
Baku in the general direction of the
Persian Gulf :. as the center of the
aspirations of the Soviet Union"
These aspirations unquestionably still
motivate post-Stalin Russia. What they
aim at is nothing less than complete
domination of the Middle East, which
would be domination enabling the
Kremlin to deprive Western Europe Of in
NtSpenSable oil. Thus, as Secretary Dulles
has warned, vital segment of the free
world could be brought to its knees and
forced to submit to Soviet terms. Former
President Truman, in an admirable con-
tribution to national unity, has made
essentially the same point in urging Con-
gresS to give speedy and full backing
to the Eisenhower proposals. True, the
proposals are disconcertingly vague in
some respects, and they certainly can &C
complish no overnight miracles, but the
sooner they are adopted-and the more
verwhelmingly-the better will be our
chance of making them work in behalf
Of peace and freedom