Down Goes a Friend

One of the few Middle East statesmen willing and unafraid to speak his piece in favor of an alliance with the West is Syria's Premier, husky, honest, 65-year-old Hasan Hakim. Last week he gave a newspaper interview urging Arab states to accept the West's offer of a Mid-East command. Aware that fanatics were urging just the opposite, Hakim added that he would make no compromises "with the street to gain cheap popularity," and would not decide his country's future on the basis of "sentimental outbursts."

After two days of uncompromising demonstrations caused by his remarks, and without support even from his own cabinet, Hakim-wasn't due to last long.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.