Eisenhower Sees “very Little Progress” in U.S. Middle East Policy

The United States has made “very little progress” toward solving Arab-Israel difficulties, President Eisenhower told a White House press conference today. He said general American policies were, on the whole, being implemented favorably.

In the Middle East, the President stated, the United States had hoped the Johnston plan for the Jordan River Valley water development project might have helped ease tensions. However, he said, the Johnston plan has so far proved itself unacceptable, not because of technical differences but because of political hostility. Israel has agreed to the Johnston plan but the Arab governments have not.