After Ten Days of Turmoil

...The Cairo leader's enormous influence in the Arab world derived largely from the confluence of two factors: the impact of modern Egypt--the most advanced of the Arab nations--and his own charisma...

...it was the direct result of Nasser's reckless use of Soviet power in an effort to cover up the failure of his "war of attrition...

...But his (and his Soviet patrons') crude and calculated violations of the arms-freeze provision of the 90-day cease-fire, upon which the talks under UN Ambassador Gunnar V. Jarring were predicated, made even his most ardent fans in Washington wonder...

...Eliahu Salpeter, a past contributor to these pages, is a member of the editorial board of Ha'aretz...

...If the experience of September 1970 proves a refresher course for the U.S., both Israel and America will benefit...

...But for Hussein, whose prestige and authority had already been worn thin by the terrorists' virtual autonomy within his kingdom, the hijackings were the last straw...

...Although no one really knows the substance of those urgent exchanges between Moscow and Damascus after Syria had sent its armor into Jordan, the fact remains that the Russians took no active military role, and issued warnings against any foreign intervention in Jordan...

...So one wonders whether broad American and other Western aid programs, coupled with the use of Egypt's resources for economic investment rather than military appropriations, might not have brought a better life to the poor Egyptian than the Soviet Union's largesse of migs, Stalin tanks and sam missiles...

...As for Egypt's expropriation of the Suez Canal, the practical value of that move takes on a different cast when seen in the light of what other countries--from Panama to Iraq to Saudi Arabia--have managed to squeeze out of the "imperialists" by not nationalizing their concessions...

...But a cooler appraisal of the late Egyptian President and his policies tends to make the future look somewhat less alarming and the past less rosy...

...This prompted several observers in the West to suggest that the militant pflp hoped to blow up the peace plan with its spectacular multiple skyjacking...

...The new regime, this thinking went, might well be less able to resist Soviet attempts at total domination of the United Arab Republic, less able to appease Egyptian extremists seeking a more aggressive policy toward Israel...

...Units of the Sixth Fleet steamed eastward and were within range of Amman and Damascus...

...Israel never expected Washington to threaten Russia with nuclear weapons to get the Soviets to remove their migs or missiles from Egypt...

...She was not able to initiate a review of the border issue...

...construction of the Aswan Dam...

...But there was little faith at the time of the signing that the accord would be observed more scrupulously than any of the score or so pacts signed earlier...

...But these accomplishments, like other facets of his 18-year career, must be viewed in perspective...

...land reform...

...And Nasser's death only a few hours later seemed to further diminish the chances for its success...

...Logical as that argument may seem on its face, it lags behind the events...

...The 10-day civil war that erupted in Jordan overshadowed not only the release of the hostages held by the terrorists, but the Suez missile crsis that was responsible for Prime Minister Golda Meir's visit to Washington...

...The notion of Nasser's unwavering autonomy in the face of the ever increasing Soviet presence in Egypt also bears closer inspection...

...2. After the latest Egyptian-Soviet duplicity...

...The memory of the effectiveness of American warnings in June 1967 was forgotten too soon...

...What about the purely domestic aspects of Nasser's rule...

...Granted that Nasser's surprise acceptance of Secretary of State William P. Rogers' initiative for indirect peace talks--after an extended visit in Moscow--was a dramatic departure...

...The fedayeen campaign against Hussein's government and, in particular, his largely Bedouin Army, was precipitated by Jordan's acceptance of the U.S...

...and, not least, the nationalistic pride instilled in the individual Egyptian...

...Yet this verbal confusion, it is now apparent, added to the effect of the practical steps taken by the U.S...

...There are several important lessons to be learned by both Jerusalem and Washington from the latest Middle East crisis...

...Indeed, Nasser's last official act was to mediate between King Hussein and Yasir Arafat at the conference table in Cairo, where the two antagonists reached agreement on a Jordanian cease-fire and on the terms for their coexistence...

...These dire premonitions may, of course, materialize, given the unpredictable political climate of the region...

...nationalization of the Suez Canal...

...By lending his personal prestige to the practice of accepting Soviet aid and arms, Nasser made it appear respectable to rulers who otherwise would have regarded such dealings with the utmost suspicion...

...It may be true that he himself did not want to become Moscow's puppet, yet the fact remains that he invited the Russians to take a foothold in his country, and that they then were able to exert their influence throughout the Arab world...

...In fact, listening to Israel radio that afternoon one might have thought the Egyptian President was a veritable pillar of righteousness, this country's best friend in the Middle East, instead of its most dangerous enemy...

...A Farouk or a Naguib, to cite Nasser's two immediate predecessors, could not wield his influence...

...Mourners in the West have drawn up the following list of achievements: elimination of the British bases...

...The real reason for the performance at "Revolution Airfield" was the fact that the Peking-oriented pflp--like the other nine members of the umbrella Palestine Liberation Organization--was beginning to lose support, especially financial support, among the nonrevolutionary Arabs...

...Rather than throw his considerable moral weight behind Hussein, the only other Arab ruler to subscribe to the peace proposals, he reversed course and supported the terrorists...

...She indicated when she got back that in both instances she was encouraged by what she was told...

...And this year's escalation of hostilities was not a product of terrorist pinpricks...

...Meir returned home satisfied on the last two items, and felt there was understanding on the first one...

...Regardless of how hostile toward Israel, the U.S...

...Every statement from the Pentagon that could be interpreted as opening the possibility of intervention was quickly neutralized by a statement to the contrary from the State Department...

...peace initiative...

...The Egyptians themselves admit, though, that by the time these programs are actually in full operation, the natural population increase will have virtually canceled out projected accomplishments...

...and in West Germany, were being placed on alert for possible parachuting into Jordan...

...Thus, while official comments vacillated wildly, troops of the Strike Command, in the U.S...

...Nasser the Egyptian was a very special conjunction--one that is therefore unlikely soon to recur...

...The latter not only reject the idea of a negotiated peace but condemned Nasser for his seemingly conciliatory approach to Israel...

...Finally, contrary to their own propaganda, the Russians retain a very healthy respect for even a limited amount of American power...

...or the West in general the new Egyptian President, Anwar Sadat, may prove to be, it is most improbable that his views will ever command the respect and authority of Nasser's "moderate animosities...

...The second is that the mere presence of an Israeli force in the vicinity is sufficient to give pause to any Middle East nation contemplating aggression...

...This seems a rather clear sign that Moscow took the American actions seriously and told the Syrians to behave or face the music alone...

...Still, it was not George Habash of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (pflp), or Yasir Arafat of Al Fatah, but the "moderate" Nasser who twice plunged the Middle East into war...

...Mrs...

...One is that a victim's will to resist aggression is the key to the success of any action on his behalf...

...But the terrorists' continuing reluctance to abandon their strongholds in the north for the dangerous and restricting border regions has underscored their treatment of the King as no less of a foe than Israel...

...Long before the Arab guerrilla air piracy, the Jarring mission was effectively torpedoed by Egypt's decision to place more and more sam missiles in the arms-freeze zone...

...Their doubts about whether Nasser really wanted peace, or simply the short-term military benefits of a limited truce, were reinforced by his actions in last month's Jordanian crisis...

...4. It hoped to obtain a loan to pay for at least part of the new arms...

...Land reform and the Aswan Dam project are necessarily intertwined...

...For the sources of friction between the commandos and the Palace in Amman were merely smoothed over, not eliminated, in Cairo: Hussein agreed to withdraw his Army from Jordan's capital if the commandos moved to areas "suitable for their purposes," i.e., attacking Israel...

...nor, for that matter, could a "Syrian Nasser" or a "Jordanian Nasser...

...He had either to act or abdicate...

...After World War II, for example, the British sought to liquidate their bases as quickly as possible, a process Nasser could not have stopped even if he had wanted to...

...Beyond these specific points, Israel's Prime Minister wanted to determine, at the highest possible level, exactly how America envisioned its future role in the eastern Mediterranean, and whether it intended to maintain its existing presence in the Middle East...

...Rather, Israel always felt the USSR feared a military confrontation no less than the U.S., but was more adept in concealing its own anxiety and exploiting that of its adversary...

...Yet in this, too, he had an indifferent record--from the 1961 dissolution of the first United Arab Republic, an experiment in Arab unity incorporating Syria and Yemen that lasted only three years...

...True, there are many Arab leaders and would-be leaders more violently opposed to the Jewish State than Nasser was...

...The next morning, several newspaper editorials solemnly praised Nasser as the only Arab leader who could negotiate and enforce a peace settlement, while voicing fearful speculations about his likely successor...

...to the backbiting and infighting in the aftermath of the shattering June 1967 defeat...

...Jerusalem was more determined than ever to reject the borders proposed in last year's Rogers plan (which were almost identical with the pre-June 1967 lines) as incompatible with the idea of "safe and secure boundaries" set forth in the Security Council Resolution of November 1967...

...to the civil strife currently afflicting many Arab nations, thanks to the activities of the Palestinian commando movement...

...Meir's arrival in the U.S., offered perhaps the most telling answer to her questions...

...3. Israel needs additional arms to counter the missile buildup...

...She called at the White House last month to make four basic points, all relating in some way to the Egyptian-Russian ceasefire violations: 1. Israel saw no sense in pursusuing the Jarring talks until the staus quo ante was restored...

...To be sure, the initial pronouncements were confusing...

...Nasser would probably have preferred being remembered as the architect of Pan-Arabism, the man who put an end to traditional Arab factionalism...

...Washington's reaction to the Jordanian civil war, which began the day after Mrs...

...To the fedayeen peace is a threat...

...The execution of this quid pro quo is being supervised by an inter-Arab committee, headed by Tunisia's Premier Bahi Ladgham...