When Prime Minister Harold Macmillan meets with President Eisenhower in Bermuda later this week he will attempt to obtain a clearcut statement of American policy on the Middle East, including its views on the Egyptian-Israel dispute and the question of traffic through the Suez Canal.
It is known here that Washington has complained lately that Britain is out of step with United States policy in the Middle East, especially as it affects the Israel-Egyptian situation. The British retort that it might have been easier to keep in step if the U. S. had given some indication of what its policy was.
The Prime Minister’s meeting with President Eisenhower takes place at a time when British respect for Mr. Eisenhower is at its lowest ebb. His handling of Middle East problems, particularly his attitude toward Israel, has provoked some of the most out-spoken comments on American leadership ever featured in the British press. Newspapers traditionally friendly to the U.S. have castigated Mr. Eisenhower’s “bullying” of Israel and have expressed amazement at his willingness to place trust in Col, Nasser.
Even left-wing papers and politicians most strongly opposed to the Anglo-French intervention in the Middle East have questioned the wisdom of the policy followed by the U.S. Administration.
In the House of Commons today. Under-Secretary of State for foreign Affairs lan Harvey said that Britain will do all it could to encourage the United Nations Emergency Force to carry out its function, chiefly to prevent raids and to maintain peaceful conditions.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.