President Eisenhower today issued a declaration of “deep concern” for the security of Communist-threatened nations of the Middle East as he dispatched Secretary of State Dulles to the area.
Mr. Dulles expressed concern to newsmen that Russia is now trying to add the Middle East to the Communist bloc. An official statement issued here denounced as “totally false” a Soviet charge that Mr. Dulles is going to the Middle East to establish U.S. missile bases in Baghdad Pact countries. The statement said:
“The purpose of the Secretary’s trip is to show U.S. sympathy and support for the security and independence of Russia’s southern neighbors who now are, and for long have been, menaced by the imperialistic aggressive designs of their powerful neighbor to the north.
Intensified Soviet activity in the Middle East has caused acceleration of economic planning here, connected mainly with additional aid to the Baghdad Pact nations, but pending assistance to Israel is also being actively considered. It is thought in informed circles that a long-delayed Israeli application for a $75,000,000 Export-Import Bank loan may be acted upon soon after the coming Baghdad Pact Council meeting.
According to reliable sources here, the United States did not consider it wise to announce a loan to Israel that might antagonize Moslem anti-Israel elements prior to the important Baghdad Pact meeting which Secretary of State Dulles will attend. Attention is focused on the meeting by both America and the Soviet Union in the emerging struggle for the Middle East. The $75,000,000 Israeli application covers irrigation and other agricultural developments.
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