COMMENT ON PLAN

Press, Volume XCV, Issue 28169, 7 January 1957, Page 7

COMMENT ON PLAN

Opposition By Russia (Rec. 11.10 p.m.) LONDON, January 6. President Eisenhower’s new doctrine to combat communism in the Middle East is welcomed by Britain, condemned by Russia, and is given a mixed reception in the Middle East. British official quarters said: “We welcome this evidence of he President’s intention to place United States resources behind the security and development of the nations of the Middle East.”

A Foreign Office spokesman, however, declined to make a statement, saying that formal comment must await the indication of the standpoint of Congress. British sources said last night that Mr Eisenhower’s statement would put fresh heart in the four Moslem members of the Bagdad Pact —Turkey, Iraq, Persia and Pakistan. Britain is also a member.

British Sunday newspapers expressed doubts about whether the plan was practical. The “Observer” said it believed the Eisenhower doctrine was in danger of being misunderstood by Arab nationalists as an attempt to put the United States into the power position lost by Britain «nd France. The “Sunday Times” described the President’s statement as a perplexing stroke of diplomacy.

“The object is clear, but the means are obscure,” the paper commented.

In Moscow the official Soviet news agency, Tass, called the proposals “America’s doctrine of imperialist interference in the affairs of Middle East countries.”

The Agency said that the doctrine was sharply aggressive and showed that the United States was intent on pursuing a policy of strength to establish its military, political and economic rule in this region.

Sources close to the Israeli Foreign Ministry said the plan had been received with disappointment because it seemed not to deal with the Arab-Israeli problem. However, the sources added: “Any plan likely to take the edge off Soviet support for the Arabs might be beneficial.”

In Cairo an authoritative Egyptian spokesman said: “Egypt has not asked a certain country (regarded as meaning the United States) for economic aid, and will never ask for such aid.”