Communism Steps Out In Middle East

Chronicle (Levin), 17 September 1948, Page 5

Communism Steps Out In Middle East

Received Thnrsdav, 7 .p.m. LONDON, Sept. 16. Signs are increasmg that Russia has liegun an intersilied campaign of penetralion in the Near and iliddle East, states the Daily Telegraph 's spociai (•ocrespondent in Uvprus. This drive he says. seems to be a partial diversion of activitv following ConiiuuniHt eliecks in Lurope and tlie Americas. Jt is l»robaiily linked with the mounting Soviet " oti'ensive " iu tlie Ear East. • ' Despite stringent anti-Communist measures in the Arab States," he continues, "the Palestine war and some soeial unresl liave provided Russia with this opportunitv. Particularly aclive are Uommuiust underground orgauisations in Syria and Lebanon, ti'ailitional hotliouses of dissident movemeiits in this part of the world. For the Arabs in Palestine, both in the Jewish and Arab areas, the Communist stalking horse is the socalled Arab Uommittee of National Liberation. Ii: Eg.vpt the studerits provide perenuially suseeptible nuiterial for agitators. In Iraq and Persia new cells of communism are known to have recently been created among the oil workers. Transjordan and Saudi Arabia, with their more primitive economic aird socia! structure, are lianler problems for tlirKremlin. But its agents are also aetivo in these couutries. " Besides trying.to undermine tliese existing regimes -from witliin, the Coinmunists are aiso attempting to acerbate nationalist differenees between the various nations and etlinological groupings. They have had some success with the Ivurds and among the tribes of Azerbaijan. "The establishment of a Soviet diplomatic mission in Tel Aviv, capital of Israel State, has provided the iiassiaus witfi their lrest- foothold so fa-r in this region.. In the l'ew wceks since its creation, the Soviet I.ogation in Tel Aviv has been remarkably active. Outwatd signs indudo a wave of pro-Soviet propaganda in Israel. Russian lilms and puhlieutions are being widelv distributed. The Israel Communist Partv, hithorto small, snbdued and poor, has put on a marked spurt of wofk and is spending more money than ever liefore. The size of the Soviet. Legation is expected to be enlarged in the uoar futuro. Ancillary niethods of Russian inllltration. such as visits bv ' cultural' missions from Russia and her satellites, are beginning to come into ofL'ect. Some notorious Communist agents have recentlv returued to the Near East and rcnewed their operations. They iuclude several specially trained multi-lingual Americans. ; " Authorities in Cyprus, whvch has assumed a new importance as an AngloAmerican base in the Eastern Alcditerranean, report rising Communist activ-it-v-"