"My Own Idea"

Egypt's Strongman Gamal Abdel Nasser last week defended his purchase of arms from the Communists, denied that he intends to start a war with Israel, and behaved like a man convinced that his spoon is long enough to sup with the devil.

"I know they are saying that [Soviet Ambassador Daniil] Solod is the world's | greatest salesman," Nasser told TIME-LIFE

Correspondent Keith Wheeler, in a midnight interview at his house, "but that is not quite the way it was. It was my own idea. I had hesitated for two months, but at last in June, I called for Solod and I said: 'Sell us arms.' Really, I was surprised when he accepted.

"Today, after we have made the arms deal, people are talking that Israel may start a preventive war. But I have been expecting them to start a war ever since they attacked Gaza on Feb. 28. Otherwise, I would not have bought arms and would have saved the money instead.

"These weapons are to defend Egypt. They are not to attack Israel. I cannot say how many weapons we need or will take. In war you cannot draw a hard line between defense and offense. As a military man, all I can tell you about that is that it depends on what the other fellow has."

"Nobody Knows." But was he not opening the way to the Russians with his arms purchases? "There are not now any Russian or Czech technicians in Egypt," replied Nasser. "A long time before this, we sent some of our best men to Czecho slovakia for training. Some have already finished their training and are back here now, instructing other officers and men. We will do our own maintenance and training. Really, I will tell you: my men have been able to assemble some airplanes using only the handbooks for instruction."

That was the closest Nasser came to admitting that MIGs had already been delivered. He declined to talk about the tanks, heavy guns, bombers and submarines the Communists were reported sending him. "Everybody wants to know what was in the 133 boxes unloaded at Alexandria," he said, taking obvious satisfaction in the amount of attention the world has given him, "but nobody knows and nobody is going to know. For the first time in history, our army has secrets."

The Nature of Gratitude. Nasser insisted that the deal did not mean that Egypt had chosen to join the Reds against the West. "When you did not help us win our freedom," he said, "when you took the side of your allies Britain and France, we felt betrayed and disappointed in you . . . Now naturally, the people are going to feel sympathy and gratitude toward the Russians. But gratitude is not the same thing as Communist principles. Indeed, the greatest thing the arms deal has done is to give our people a feeling of pride in themselves and pride in their country."

Yet, had not the arms shipment brought the Russians past Western defenses and lodged them inside Egypt's gates? "No, I think not," said Nasser. "I have always said that the defense of the Middle East must depend primarily upon the people of the Middle East. It must be inspired from within. But if there were a major war, we would still cooperate with those whose interests were like our interests. I can only answer your question with a question. Do you believe that it would be the West that would invade the Middle East, or the West that would make aggression against us?"

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