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Says President Nasser Seeking to Pressure Big 4 with War Scare

March 17, 1969
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The Egyptian Government, abetted by the local press, was generating a war scare deliberately among the populace, in order to impress the Big Four powers, especially the United States, that a major new war in the Middle East could be touched off at any time, the London Times reported from Cairo yesterday. The paper said the crisis atmosphere, following four major artillery battles across the Suez Canal last week, was intended by President Gamal Abdel Nasser to arouse Egyptians to demand vengeance against Israel.

Among the measures taken, according to the Times dispatch, were a black-out of government buildings which was extended to blocks of apartments and shops, construction of more air raid shelters, and preparation of a civil defense alarm system throughout Egypt. The Times said that Egypt’s efforts to convince the U.S. that the crisis was worsening will be supported by King Hussein of Jordan when he meets with President Nixon in Washington shortly.

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