National Reports

...By Mark Alexander Jerusalem At first glance, the military-assistance agreement concluded in Baghdad on April 21 between the United States and Iraq as well as those being negotiated with other Arab countries seems highly commendable and long overdue...

...policy may eventually result in a war, responsible State Department planners do not feel it would be desirable...

...Unfortunately, the problem of intelligent supervision is a serious one...

...This brings up the question of whether renewed Arab-Israeli hostilities would serve America's interests...

...There is no reason to feel that the Arabs will support the West in a new war if the U.S...

...At most, it will merely cause the further deterioration of an already precarious situation...

...Moreover, an Arab victory is hardly likely, and defeat or even a stalemate would have catastrophic results...

...Dumping arms into Arab countries that do not want to cooperate with the West or even defend their own independence, however, will not change this situation...

...One could also argue that the widespread and extremely vocal opposition to arms aid from the West that is evident in Arab countries should not be a deterrent, either...

...The Middle East has obviously been a target of Soviet aggression for many years...

...Secretary of State, the new American policy in the Middle East is one of "objectivity...

...Secondly, the West must have direct supervision over the use of arms and equipment supplied to Arab League countries...

...but Syria's Minister of Defense is a well-known Communist whose party ties date back about seven years...

...Indeed, this provides an ironic sidelight on American anti-Communist policies: A Communist is not allowed to serve in the Army as a private, but the Pentagon and State Department are eager to supply arms to an army whose supreme authority is a Communist...

...This was pointed up in April, when a military mission headed by Brigadier General Myers toured Pakistan, Iraq and Syria...

...Only last week, Major Salah Salem announced that several of them had been arrested for planning a coup...

...In the latter, Communist and pro-Communist forces are kept in check by a majority that understands the dangers facing the free world: in the former, every section of the public, every political party and every important newspaper opposes even mild collaboration with the West to halt Soviet aggression...

...gives them arms now...

...There is a basic difference, however, between the Arab states and the Western European countries...

...But Israel, the first country to ask for American arms aid, did not get it, and the State Department is begging Arab League countries to accept its offerings...

...yet, no one would think of refusing their requests for military assistance...

...In Egypt, too, many influential young officers are under Communist influence...

...According to a recent Dayton speech by Henry A. Byroade, Assistant U.S...

...For reasons of political expediency, he is not carried on the official party rolls now...

...A strong case for strengthening the Middle East's neutralist rulers might be made on the assumption that any arms supplied would be used against the only possible attacker in this part of the world...

...Most observers here feel that, while the present U.S...

...About half an hour later, you will see a much larger dust cloud speeding in the same direction that will be the Iraqi Army...

...This weak military situation, which leaves the Suez Canal and the rich oil fields of Kuwait and Saudia virtually unprotected, is a permanent invitation to aggression...

...What is more, France's Minister of Defense and leading Army officers are not Communists...

...The mission reported to Washington that it was "very much impressed" with information it received from the directors of the American University in Beirut...

...plan for strengthening the Arab countries against possible outside attack seems logical...

...and it was forced to close down in the spring because of anti-American riots...

...If the West wants to secure its position in the Middle East, it must recognize three things: First, the only bases that can be of any value are those that are at the West's disposal or in countries willing to take part in a common defense scheme...

...More than half of this uncoordinated and poorly equipped force is permanently taken up with various police actions against the Kurds and rebelling Iraqi tribes, or, as is the case with Jordan's Arab Legion and a large part of Syria's army, with guarding the Israeli frontier...

...Arab League neutralism stems from opportunism rather than conviction, as was proven by the stand Egypt and Iraq took during World War II...

...Lastly, the Arab League countries must be willing to defend themselves before any attempt is made to strengthen them militarily...

...Moreover, with the exception of Egypt, no Arab League country has an air force worth mentioning...

...Unfortunately, this attitude will only develop if the corrupt cliques now ruling nations like Iraq, Syria and Lebanon are replaced by popular, stable governments, and there is little chance of a change in the immediate future...

...In 1951, however, he led the Communist peace movements, was an initiator of the famous Moscow Economic Conference, and headed countless Communist fronts...

...The experts are inclined to feel that America's new policy is motivated by a condition that can best be described by what a high Iraqi Army officer recently told a British observer: "Should you by chance be anywhere near Rutba [a desert outpost on the road from Iraq to Syria] when the Russians cross the Caucasus, you will observe, toward nightfall, a small puff of dust moving rapidly westward that will be me...

...And, apart from Turkey and Israel, there are less than eight divisions in the area between the Caucasus and Suez...

...Obviously, it did not know that this university has been the center of Communist activity in the Middle East for many years...

...An Arab League victory would not improve Arab-American relations, and a war would only weaken these countries for the critical years' ahead...

...Consequently, the U.S...

...A further look at the American arms-aid program, however, raises an important question: Are the unstable Arab governments able and willing to use this assistance for its intended purposes, or is there a chance that it might be employed in military actions detrimental to the West...

...The military junta's leaders, particularly General Naguib and Colonel Nasser, are neutralists, but they severely reproached Iraq for accepting American arms aid and have steadfastly refused similar offers...

...Most of the Communist leaders in this area graduated from it...

...Indeed, it is more likely that the immediate effect of this program will be a "second round" with Israel...

...Unfortunately, this assumption, too, is based on a number of fallacies...

...After all, the same sentiments can be heard in France or Italy...

...To argue that this is not politically feasible now is tantamount to saying that the arms will not be used in accordance with the West's needs...

...Of course, the danger of arms falling into enemy hands always exists, and this would hardly be a reason for not trying to improve a dangerous situation...

...The Iraqi Army, incidentally, is not the worst, or the least reliable, in the Middle East...