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C I T h a l l e n g e n h e E m i d d l e a s t COMMUNIST INFLUENCE AND AMERICAN POLICY H E a r r y b e a r s e l l i s Also by Harry B. Ellis: HERITAGE OF THE DESERT The Arabs and The Middle East [1956] ISRAEL AND THE MIDDLE EAST [1957] C H A L L E N G E in the M I D D L E E A S T Communist Influence and American Policy HARRY B. ELLIS THE RONALD PRESS COMPANY • NEW YORK Copyright © 1960 by B. H E arry llis All Rights Reserved No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher. library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 60-15030 PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA To Reggie Preface From 1952 until the present I have worked with the prob lems of the Middle East, for more than half of that time as resident Middle East correspondent of The Christian Sci ence Monitor. My work has taken me widely and re peatedly throughout the Arab world, and also to Israel, Turkey, and Iran. In this book I have set down certain conclusions of my own about effective American policies in the area. The central problem I consider to be the safeguarding of legiti mate American interests against the steady pressure of Com munist infiltration. In the following pages I explain my reasons for believing that Arab leaders—notably President Nasser—are far more deeply concerned about the dangers of Communist influence than is realized by many in the West. I also attempt to show that the national interests of the United States and those of the Arabs, Israelis, and other Middle Eastern peoples are compatible, whereas the na tional interests of the Soviet bloc and the nations of the v vi PREFACE Middle East are not. This provides a framework within which a mutually satisfactory, though perhaps never ideal, relationship may be worked out between the United States and the Middle East. In earlier books I have sought to recount, without overly intruding my own opinions, the histories of the Arabs and Jews and where these histories have led the two peoples, up to and including their present impasse over Palestine. This present book, by contrast, is far more personal in judgment. Its conclusions are based in part on background informa tion, some of it never before published, about past American relations with Arab leaders, principally President Nasser. My conclusions also have been reached through conversa tions with prominent Middle Easterners at many levels, dis cussions with American and other diplomats, and firsthand acquaintance with the attitudes of “little” Arabs of the cities and farms. Despite this personal quality it is my earnest hope that the book will be accepted as fair-minded by all parties involved in the complex conflicts of interest in the contemporary Middle East. Certainly its one conscious bias is that of an American observer looking at the area primarily from the standpoint of the interests of the United States. H B. E arry llis Beirut, Lebanon August, 1960 Contents PAGE 1 3 D E N ynamite and an mpty et 2 12 “W C E C ” hen ommunism nters a ountry 3 31 C T W ’ E airo hrough ashington s yes 4 55 T L R B .......................................................................... he ong oad ack 5 87 T U S I he nited tates and srael 6 121 A I M E merican nterests in the iddle ast 7 143 W D S S ? here o the oviets tand 8 180 C Y T hallenge to ankee raders 9 202 F T T or oday and omorrow 227 S B ....................................................................... elected ibliography 231 I ..................................................................................................... ndex vii