EGYPT: Arms & the Man

At an armed-forces exhibition in Cairo, thousands of army officers listened while Egypt’s Premier Gamal Abdel Nasser made a speech. Subject: why the Egyptian army, which governs the country (TIME, Sept. 26), is too weak to fight. The step which Nasser announced he had taken toward remedying this condition drew thunderous applause from his officers, but last week its implications threatened the Western world with a dangerous power shift in the critical Middle East.

“Heavy arms,” said Nasser, “are controlled by the big powers, and these agreed to provide Egypt’s armed forces with arms, but on certain conditions.” All deals failed. “France bargained with us, saying that she would only supply us with arms if we refrained from criticizing her attitude in North Africa, which was another way of saying that we should abandon our Arabism . . . shut our eyes to massacres . . . The United States only gave us promises, making it a condition that we should sign a mutual-defense agreement or pact . . . The United Kingdom said she would readily supply us with arms, but she has only sent us very small shipments.”

Then came the startling announcement : “We received an offer from Czechoslovakia showing readiness to supply us with as many weapons as our army required, and on a purely commercial basis in return for Egyptian products such as cotton and rice, which I accepted with thanks. An agreement was concluded to this effect between Egypt and Czechoslovakia last week.”

Risky Course. The arms that Nasser needs are tanks, jet planes, heavy artillery and a few naval craft. Czechoslovakia’s famed Skoda armament works, now named for Lenin and controlled by the Soviet army, is well equipped to supply most of the arms. But to make effective use of Czech weapons, the Egyptian army will be obliged to set up a maintenance supply line running back to Prague, and, therefore, to Moscow. Thus Russia can secure a linn and influential hold on an area hitherto dominated by the West.

Nasser, no Communist, gave his reasons for taking such a risky course. “We insist.” he said, “on securing arms for our army to safeguard our revolution and our independence, and to preserve our dignity.” The fact that Israel (pop. 1,700,000) has an army more than twice the size of Egypt’s (pop. 22.5 million) is a constant source of humiliation to Nasser’s military junta. It enables Israel to move in and out of the demilitarized border zone of El Auja with impunity, as it did last week, and it gives (to Egyptian ears) an intolerable acidity to Premier-designate Ben-Gurion’s statement on the eve of Yom Kippur: “I hope Egypt won’t be foolish enough to try to blockade the Gulf of Aqaba against us. We can beat them …”

To meet this, or any other Israeli challenge, Nasser has a mixed assortment of arms, including 32 obsolescent Centurion tanks, eleven Meteor and 26 Vampire jets and some 150 anti-tank guns, given to him by the British. But the British, who have no confidence in Nasser’s long-range intentions, have also provided the Israelis with similar heavy weapons.

Flat Rejection. The U.S. has several times offered to supply Nasser with arms. Neither the Mutual Security Act nor direct-grant aid requires a mutual-security treaty, but a standard form of agreement is demanded by act of Congress. Said Nasser: “We flatly rejected these conditions, partly because this is an infringement on our freedom, and partly because we have always insisted that Egypt should follow an independent policy.” Last August an arms deal between the U.S. and Egypt actually got to the stage of listing items required, but lapsed when Egypt failed to produce the cash.

When they heard the news of Nasser’s decision to deal with the Communist bloc. Secretary of State Dulles and British Foreign Secretary Macmillan, meeting in New York, issued a joint communique stating that their governments had acted “to avoid an arms race,” and hoping that “other governments will continue to be guided by the same principles.” Added Macmillan: “A heavy responsibility will lie with any country that introduces any new and disturbing factor into the delicate Middle East situation.” Dulles sent Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs George V. Allen on a flying trip to Cairo to try to dissuade Nasser from making the deal. In Israel an emergency session of the Knesset was called. Said the afternoon Ma ‘ariv: “We have warned U.S. officials a thousand times that Western attempts to woo the Arabs would lead to the West being blackmailed by the Arabs.”

But the Communists were responding fast to opportunity’s knock. In Cairo Soviet Ambassador Daniel Solod, credited with having masterminded the Czech arms deal, held a long session with Nasser. Asked by a reporter if he thought the West had any right to object to the Czech arms deal, he snapped: “What right?” Solid Solod also conferred with Lebanese Ambassador Khalil Takieddine, thus giving credence to a rumor that Russia was preparing to extend her arms offer to other Arab countries. Said Arab League Secretary Ahmad Shukairy: “I don’t see any difference between oranges and ammunition. Oranges are purchased where the price is right and where the taste is best.”

When it came time to see the U.S.’s Allen, Nasser first kept him waiting an hour and a half in his anteroom, then apparently gave him little satisfaction. At week’s end, addressing a graduating class of cadets at the Cairo Military Academy, the 37-year-old Premier showed every sign of going ahead with the Czech deal, poured scorn on the Western powers for their objections. “Their anecdote about the balance of power is a trick to fool world opinion,” said Nasser. Stolen French and British intelligence documents, he said, showed that the Israeli army had been heavily armed by the Allies and was planning to attack Egypt. “But now,” he said, “we are rich with faith, sacrifice, men and arms. We shall proceed forward.”