Egypt: Back to the Balcony

In recent months, Gamal Abdel Nasser has been the very model of sweet reasonableness. He has counseled caution in Arab threats of war against Israel, taken steps to end the war in Yemen and toned down his blasts at the U.S. Perhaps the strain of moderation was too great, for last week he was back at his old propaganda stand, happily blasting everyone in sight.

The occasion was Unity Day, the annual observance that oddly celebrates Egypt’s short-lived union with Syria. Warming to his subject, Nasser accused Saudi Arabia’s King Feisal of financing a plot against him last summer, and of trying to form a conservative, anti-Nasser “Islamic alliance” with Iran’s Mohammed Reza Shah Pahlevi. “Their object,” Nasser steamed, “is to destroy Arab nationalism and unity.” And who are the real architects behind the alliance? “Obviously,” Nasser answered, “Washington and London.” With that, Nasser all but tore up the six-month-old Egyptian-Saudi truce on Yemen, declaring that he would not withdraw his 70,000 troops, as promised, until an “acceptable” government in San’a is agreed upon. “If anyone thinks we have become tired,” Nasser vowed, “let me say that we are a struggling nation, a fighting nation, a patient nation. We can stay in Yemen for one, two, three, four or even five years.” As for Israel, Nasser threatened a “deterrent war” if the country decides to go ahead with the development of an atomic weapon. In the same hot breath, Nasser also attacked Tunisia’s Habib Bourguiba for daring to advocate Arab negotiation with Israel.

What was eating Nasser all of a sudden? Genuine fear of encirclement by the Arab conservatives? Frustration over his expensive troop commitment in Yemen? Some old Middle East hands thought it might be merely a yearning for the good old days when he was constantly embroiled in international intrigue. They suggest that President Johnson may have stirred him up by sending Averell Harriman to Cairo with a virtual invitation to join the Viet Nam peace effort. “Lyndon’s gone and dragged Nasser away from the fireplace and onto the balcony again,” sighs one American expert. “Once you get him out there, it’s a helluva job to get him back to the fireplace again.”