Our "Superior Airs"

"We have all heard that the pen is mightier than the sword," writes Lieut. General Sir John Bagot Glubb, recently sacked commander of Jordan's Arab Legion, "but we do not seem really to have taken it to heart." Deprived of his sword by the young King of Jordan, whose family he had served since 1930, Glubb last week in Surrey, England, took to the pen.

In a series of articles syndicated by the North American Newspaper Alliance, the desert warrior concluded: "It was neither the King nor I who was at fault. King Hussein and I alike had been borne away willy-nilly on the tumultuous stream of human life."

Averting the Gaze. Under the reign of the present King's grandfather, King Abdullah, that stream had been kept under a measure of control. "I recollect so well one evening," Glubb recalls in an affectionate sidelight, "when King Abdullah was visited by a deputation of venerable-Moslem religious leaders and began to question them on religious subjects. 'Is it lawful to look at a pretty girl if you meet her on the street?' inquired His Majesty.

"The learned men were horrified at so frivolous a suggestion, and agreed . . . that such an action would be sinful.

" 'I don't see how you arrive at that,' said the King with a sly twinkle. 'The Koran says that when you see a woman you should avert your gaze. To say you avert your gaze obviously means that you have been looking.' "

In the good old days, according to Glubb, wise rulers had the selfless help of the old order of imperialist, a breed now "extinct." "Often," writes Glubb, "the imperialist devoted his life to the amelioration of the conditions of the people committed to his charge. Under this constant care, public security was assured, roads were built, sanitation introduced, education inaugurated. But he committed one unpardonable offense--he was supercilious.

"The peoples of the East are taking their revenge today, not for any injury done to them, but for the superior airs we gave ourselves."

Words as Weapons. The principal weapons of this vengeful vendetta are words. "Britain," writes Glubb, "is being driven from the Middle East by words--words to which, with British impassivity, she refuses to reply . . . The same bitter diatribes and violent slogans are poured out [by the Egyptian radio] day after day, hour after hour, and there is no reply, no response, no counter-propaganda. When a foreign radio said that British troops were bayoneting babies, English people merely laughed and said, 'How ridiculous.' But millions of [Arab] listeners believed it... In the Middle East today, the wireless set and the printing press are waging a relentless and merciless war.

"Britain should turn all her energies to these weapons. Her best and most energetic young men should be assigned to organize her publicity. Tell them the truth --good and strong and loud. Truth is fatal to dictators and racketeers. Give it to them straight from the shoulder.

"When I arrived in London last week, I was besieged by newspaper men. When I eventually got away from the questioning, a middle-aged man standing near by gave me a broad smile.

" 'Well, sir,' he said, 'my old father used to say that there were worse ways of dying than being talked to death--but very few!'

"Britain today is being talked to death in the Middle East."

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