The Glacier reporter., 1963-03-07
Washington
News Notes

Murder In Baghdad
Washington, d. c. - There is
some question now in Washing
ton as to the value of Spanish
geography, for military purposes,
after the recent visit of French
officers to Madrid resulted in a
hardened Spanish attitude toward
the Pentagon's negotiators.
Reports in London, which were
not supported by Washington an
nOuncements, had ii that a high
level decision had been made in
Washington not to seek Rota
a major Mediterranean Polaris
submarine base. This was not
Immediately confirmed and the
U. S. officials continued to talk
of the possibility of making Rota
a major U. S. naval base.
But there is no doubt that our
BAT bomber bases in Spain are
losing their attractiveness. The
BATS are being phased out as
obsolete and their retaliatory
threat is being replaced by the
Polaris submarines.
Also, the cost of maintaining
these bases, in England. Spain
and Morocco - and in Guam -
is costing the Treasury dearly in
its efforts to achieve a balance
in the country's international
payments.
If ROta is abandoned. as the
grand project it so long had been
envisaged in the Pentagon. this
decision, along with the reduced
value of our huge air bases, may
mean the end is in sight in Spain,
as far as any major U. S. COM
mitment is concerned. The lease
for the air bases expires this
September.
Negotiations which could lead
to a renewal of that lease begin
in about a month, after an early
February - postponement.
Harold Wilson has somewhat
reassured Washington with a
statement on NATO, and greater
British cooperation in NATO, but
the new leader of the Labor Par
ty is still an enigma to many in
the national capital.
For that matter, he is an enig-
ma to many in Britain. Quiet and
what might be termed drab, he
is a 46-year old political strate-
gist and his latest achievement
winning the leadership battle of
his party from George Brown,
shows how he succeeds when the
chips are down. in close quarters.
among the party professionals.
But whether Wilson has much
voter appeal, and how he would
do in a national campaign pitted
against Prime Minister Harold
Macmillan is quite a question in
Washington. The United States
of course, cannot afford TO take
sides in British politics, but il
is no secret that most Ameri"aHs
would prefer a continuation C'
the Macmillan leadership 1t
least until the present crisis in
urope, caused by General Charles
DeGaulle, has been surmounted.
Yet the polls in England Of
late have shown that the Labor
Party has an excellent chance
of winning the next election. That
would make Wilson Prime Mini
ster. Seldom has a prospective
Prime Minister been less known
in the United States.
Reporters in Washington COW
ering the foreign scene are once
again reminded of the diplomatic
axiom that there is nothing like
successful murder in the matter
of Latin American or Middle
Eastern government.
Most of the major nations of
the world quickly recognized the |
new regime in Iraq within days
or even hours after a rebellion
which claimed the lives of form
er dictator Abdel Kassem and
his aides - who were shot down
by hastily organized firingl
squads.
There was no condemnation
from Washington or elsewhere,
of the methods used. Successful |
murder begot successful diplo-
matte relations and everything
carried on almost normally af-
terward. The fact is, ii depends |
on whose OK is being gored, and
Washington had little love, un-
derstandably, for the Kassem re.
pime.