United Colleges - Vox Yearbook (Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada)

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value of the Middle East. This will be difficult, particularly with the Arab, who “blames the United Nations for his plight, feeling that its intervention prevented the realization of his hopes for an independent Palestine. He blames the British for allowing Jewish strength to grow prior to May 15, 1948, and for allegedly prevent¬ ing the Arab Legion from following up its vic¬ tories over the armies of Israel. He bitterly blames the United States for its support of Israel”. (8) Neither British nor the United States are treated without suspicion in the Middle East and in fact the United States has succeeded in five years in doing what took Britain thirty years, namely, to antagonize the Middle East¬ erners. Though the proble mseems almost impossible, the West must not despair. “Israel has made no secret of its desire and need for peace. The Arab world needs it just as urgently, and Western security is tied up in it inextricably”. (0 Leader¬ ship in producing a peace settlement must be taken by the Big Powers, who up to the present have made no sustained, positive and construc¬ tive attempt to decrease Arab-Israel tensions, let alone promote a peace settlement. But this leadership must be exerted through the too often forgotten agency of the United Nations. We must return to the position of President Truman, when in a 6peech on April 16, 1946, he said: “No country, great or small, has legitimate interest in the Near East which cannot be recon¬ ciled with the interests of other nations through the United Nations” 10 ’ Only through greater emphasis on the United Nations can the stigma of imperialism be removed from benevolent attempts by the West to aid in the development of the Middle Eastern area into stable nations which can aid in the cause of maintaining peace throughout the world. If at the same time as the United Nations is taking leadership in initiating peace negotia¬ tions, a carefully planned program of economic development is begun, a sound basis for sane nationalism in the Middle East can be laid. We in Egypt. “Decency and selflessness, vigorous 8. Richardson, C. B.— The Refugee Problem. Proceedings of the American Academy of Political Science, Vol. xxiv, No. 4, January 1952. 9. Ibid.— Nation, page 344. 10. Quoted by Black, C. E.— Old Problems in New Hands. Current History, Vol. 21, No. 119, July 1951, page 29. 11. Issawi, C.— Prospects of Economic Development in the Middle East. Procedings of the American Academy of Political Science, page 29, January 1952. 12. Ibid. Stevenson, A. E., page 39. must keep clearly in mind that at present “the greater part of the land belongs to absentee landlords who let it out on short leases, which deprives the share-croppers of any incentive to introduce improvements” 11 ’ Leaders of the Middle Eastern nations must follow on their own initiative or on urging from United Nations technical advisors, the example set by Neguib land reforms, relentless attacks on corruption, economic control measures, political house clean¬ ing and social improvement have won Neguib widespread public support and given Egypt a new sense of national pride, purpose and hope” 12 ’ A program of this nature is most neces¬ sary to fill the vacuum that will be left after the Middle East is rid of foreign encroachments. Iran provides a good contrast to Egypt, for as someone has observed acutely “Mossadeq failed because he succeeded”. He came to power on the swell of a great wave of nationalism, gained national control for Iranian oil, but today finds himself on trial for his life. He lost public sup¬ port because nationalization of oil did not pro¬ duce the expected result and he failed to turn nationalistic ferver into constructive channels, such as the much-needed land reforms. Accompanying land reform irrigation is neces¬ sary, for the limiting factor in the Middle East is not land but water. Through planned irriga¬ tion developments, much of the land, now un¬ productive, can be fertile, making the refugee re-settlement problem considerably less difficult, as well as greatly raising the standard of living in many of the countries. Up to the present foreign influence in the Middle East has more often than not been exercised to block neces¬ sary reform and hold up progress, and more im¬ portant has provided an irritant that has detract¬ ed from the basic social and economic problems. By a greater emphasis on the United Nations, and a willingness on the part of the West to spend money for constructive social ends, rather than destructive military ones, reactionary policies can be reversed. Much of the initiative in such a combined pro¬ gram of peace negotiations and economic de¬ velopment must rest with the United Nations. However, the final responsibility must rest with the Middle Eastern people, for as a former pre¬ sident of the American University at Beirut points out “If we try to reform the Middle East by coercing members of the older generation, 21

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Cola salesmen, and the impoverished inhabit¬ ants of the area can continually contrast their position with that of the rich imperialist. On the other hand, Russians are not present in any large number, but are only represented by agents and promises, and no such unfavorable contrast can be made. Let us remember, how¬ ever, that few Middle Easterners understand or are even interested in the theoretical aspects of communism, but are more concerned with the immediate questions of land and bread. If the West has only arms and military pacts to offer in contrast to the land and bread offered by the communists the course for the Middle Eastern peasan is clear. There is another and equally important factor in the communist appeal in the Middle East. It is the problem that crops up everywhere; the state of Israel. As far as the Arab is concerned, the Jewish state was established in the centre of the Arab world by Western capitalism; the failure of the Arabs to stop this act and the results of the war clearly underscored by the presence of 800,000 refugees are all laid at the door of the United Nations and the West. The West, in its continued support of Israel to the disadvantage of the Arabs, leaves itself open to the possibility of losing the Middle East by de¬ fault. Let us now turn to the question of Western policy in the Middle East in an attempt to dis¬ cover what the West is doing and should do in order to develop the area and cultivate the friendship of the peoples, rather than to coerce them into becoming reluctant, and therefore use¬ less, allies. IV The West and the Middle East From what has already been suggested con¬ cerning the Middle East in relation to collective security and the relationship of Russia to the area, the pattern that emerges is clearly focused around two problems. Firstly, the social and economic problem expressed in the vast in¬ equalities of wealth and land, which is closely connected with Western imperialism and dollar diplomacy, and, secondly, the problem of Arab- Israel tensions. If the West is constructively and 6 Crossman, R. H. S .—Israel and the Arabs. New Statesman and Nation, page 169, February 14, 1953. 7. Shultz, L.— U. S.- Israel Crisis. The Nation, page 343, November 7, i953. clearly to indicate an interest in the Middle East for more than reason of military expediency, these two problems must be seriously taken in hand. Let us take these problems separately, not with any sanguine hopes that an absolute plan of solution can be produced, but rather with the intention of suggesting some of the steps that must be taken and the pitfalls that must be avoided. The problem of peace in the Middle East is, perhaps, the greatest of all the multifarious diffi¬ culties, for it can be argued that without peace there can be no stability; without stability, pro¬ grams of economic, social and political develop¬ ment, designed to produce social justice, would be ineffective. “On the Arab side the governing oligarchies will continue to divert attention from the social problem by keeping the anti- zionist fervor in a white heat, and then blaming the Jews and their Western imperialist backers for the miserable condition of their people” 6 ' On the Jewish side the fear of Arab hostility forces the state to maintain a huge army, as a constant drain on an already weak, unsound economy. The recent sale of jet planes by the British to all Middle Eastern states was hardly a measure designed to promote peace. The situation remains deadlocked with little sign of improvement. The Arabs demand an “honorable” settlement, which means a solution to the refugee problem, before peace negotia¬ tions are begun. The Jews, logically enough, say that the refugee problem can only come as part of an overall agreement. Both sides remain in¬ transigent. The recent tragedy of Kibya serves to highlight the fact that the present truce arrangements are no substitute for peace as the Nation declares “dicussions looking towards a settlement can no longer be delayed”. (,) It is in the interest not only of the Jews and Arabs, but of world peace, that a settlement should be arrived at. There is, however, no pat formula for breaking this deadlock. One thing that must be avoided is a forced settlement by Britain and the United States alone. Recent attempts by the State Department at Washing¬ ton to appease the Arabs, by cutting off aid to the Jews for a brief period, is merely another step in the pattern of placing military expedi¬ ency before principle. Perhaps the best way of influencing both the Jews and the Arabs is to show that we have a genuine interest in the people of the area, and not just in the strategic 20

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it will end up in hatred and frustration, but if we teach the youth to do the work themselves we shall gain their confidence and help them reform their countries” ' ’ 0 V Conclusion In conclusion, a few general observations can be made. The cold war which seems to have become a chronic part of our everyday life has, in recent months, particularly in the Korean area, shown some sign of abatement. However, neither side has made any positive, sincere attempt to bring it to and end. As part of a general overall attempt to iron out world diffi¬ culties, which would, directly or indirectly, ease tensions in the Middle East, a Big Four confer¬ ence of the leaders of the various states is neces¬ sary. That the American State department, fear¬ ing the cry of “appeasement” and “softness to communism” from certain quarters, should con¬ tinue to deny this possibility, is a great tragedy. Mr. Churchill’s proposal of last spring remains a dead letter. The results of such a conference defy prophecy, they might be small, but we have little to lose and much to gain in this type of approach. Even to take the initiative, if it is sincere and genuine, and meet with refusal from Russia, it would serve to indicate to the people of the world the peaceful intentions of the West. If a peaceful solution to our differ¬ ences ■ could be worked out it would mean a great deal to the Middle East, for in this area peace is a prime necessity for a development program. It need hardly be pointed out that up to this time the record of the West in the Middle East is scarcely an enviable one. On the whole, it is a record of conquest, broken promises, expedi¬ ency, and exploitation. The time has come for a revolutionary change in our approach. As Mr. Dulles has pointed out, “The day is past when their aspirations can be ignored”. 00 Since the war ended, the Western nations have con¬ sistently underestimated the power of national¬ ism ' in underdeveloped areas. We must not allow the fiasco of China to be re-enacted in another area of critical international concern. Nationalism and the drive for independence can no longer be stemmed by piecemeal agree- 13. Dodge, B .—Western Education in the Middle East. Pro¬ ceedings of the American Academy of Political Science, Vol. xxiv, No. 4, January 1952, page 53. ments which will only be broken when the next stage is reached. The fact is that as long as the misery of the people produces a smouldering unrest, unprincipled politicians have full sup¬ port for any number of new demands. Ultimate independence, peace between Arabs and Jews, and internal improvements is the final answer. If we fail to place ourselves on the side of popular movements in these countries and con¬ tinue to support our reactionary allies in the Middle East, allies whose policy is “oil diplo¬ macy,” de can prepare ourselves for the next stage of education through salamity. Most of the suggestions of help that we in the West can give to the countries of the Middle East is in the form of economic aid to satisfy the material needs of those countries. To be sure this type of aid is fundamental, but we must not make the mistake of believing that the answer to communist materialism is another form of materialism. We must make democracy in the West something more than the tmpty phrase that it often appeals to people of foreign countries when they see that McCarthy’s con¬ ducting investigations into the lives of everyone, from former presidents and university pro¬ fessors to Sunday school teachers. The West should carefully consider the well-known Bibli¬ cal admonition, “Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not see the log that is in your own”? Let us make clear the spiritual values of liberty, equality and fraternity before we try to foist them upon peoples of lesser political experience. Unless a new enlightened policy, based on liberal principles, is adopted in our approach to the problems of the Middle East, the area which gave birth to Western civilization may well be¬ come its graveyard. (£)’Nnll Sc iimttn GUILD OPTICIANS Serving the Eye Physician and his patients 427 Graham Avenue Near The Bay Winnipeg Phone 92-6932 22