Senate Debates Nasser’s Aggression; Senators Urge U.S. Action

Senator Ernest Gruening’s major address on the situation in the Middle East, which the Alaskan Democrat delivered in the Senate yesterday afternoon, calling for a revision of the State Department’s policy of support of President Nasser of Egypt, developed into a broad debate in which several Senators joined in to denounce Egypt’s aggressive acts and the lack of interference by the United States.

Senator Paul Douglas, Illinois Democrat, reminded his colleagues that Nasser, in a pamphlet written by him a decade ago, admitted that his aim was to control, progressively, the Middle East, Africa and ultimately the entire Moslem world.

Senator Jacob Javits, Republican of New York, raised the question whether it would not be useful, at this time, for the United States, Britain and France to reiterate their 1950 Tripartite Declaration, guaranteeing the nations in the Middle East against any attempt to change their boundaries by force.

Senator Philip Hart, Michigan Democrat, expressed the hope that the suggestions and the warnings of Senator Gruening “will be read with equal attention” not only by the State Department but by the entire people of the United States. “Israel is a sanctuary of freedom which must be preserved, not for some sentimental reasons but for our own good. We must insure not only its survival but its success,” Sen. Hart said.

Senator Thomas Dodd, Connecticut Democrat, declared: “Appeasement of Nasser would pay off in essentially the same way as did the appeasement of Hitler. My own view is that the official silence of the State Department and of our representatives at the United Nations on the subject of Nasser’s aggression and threat of aggression is something which defies understanding.”