Dr. Arthur Burns, economic advisor to President Eisenhower, was quoted here today as declaring that the Western Powers know they cannot consider the Arabs as a serious factor in the struggle between East and West and that the Western Powers must take a stronger stand to influence the Arabs to halt their blockade of Israel.
The appraisal of the situation ascribed to Dr. Burns, which conflicts with State Department policy in arming Iraq as a bulwark against Communist aggression, appeared in an interview with Dr. Burns by Beinesh Epstein, of the Republican National Committee, circulated to the Jewish press by the committee.
“Dr. Burns believes,” the interview asserted, “that America and our democratic allies must take a stronger stand to influence the Arabs to cease their blockade of Israel. He also hopes that this will happen very soon.
“The Western Powers, he remarked, know that they cannot depend upon the Arabs as an earnest factor in the struggle between the East and West at a time when they have full assurance that Israel will fight effectively for her independence and for democratic freedom and security in the Middle East. He is, therefore, convinced that the Western Powers will ultimately, in their own interests, take steps against the Arab blockade of the State of Israel, ” the interviewer reported.
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