SOVIET COMEBACK AS POWER IN MIDDLE EAST CAUSES RISING CONCERN IN WEST

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP70B00338R000300060023-4
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: January 4, 2017
• Document Release Date: July 15, 2005
• Sequence Number: 23
• Publication Date: January 18, 1968
• Content Type: NSPR

Soviet. Comeback as Power in Middle East Causes Rising Concern in West
y CB. SSUTR
~pectal to The New York Timm
WASHINGTON, Jan. 14-As
the aircraft carrier America
steamed through the Mediter-
ranean southeast of Crete
last summer, a Navy officer
squinted in the sun as he ex-
plained the political impact
of the United States Sixth Fleet
in the Middle East.
"Anybody who makes a
move on the rim of the Medi-
terranean has to figure on us,"
he said. "We run interference
for the State Department."
Gesturing toward rows of white
Navy F-4 Phantom fighter-
bombers lashed to the gently
rolling flight deck, he added:
"With those we can hit any-
thing in this area in a matter
of minutes."
It was common last summer
for Westerners to assert that
the Soviet Union had suffered
a severe setback and loss of
prestige as a result of Israel's
quick and convincing victory
over the Arab armies that Mos-
cow had equipped, trained and
Politically supported.
That point is no longer em-
Continued on Page 4, Column I
Approved For Release 2005/07/25 : CIA-RDP70B00338R000300060023-4