FLOUNDERS IN
By Joseph
In the tense crisis over the Middle East, two strange reactions in American ruling circles have caught international attention.
One is the cautious posture suddenly adopted by the Johnson administration. This stands in remarkable contrast to its trigger-happy attitude in the Dominican crisis when the policy was to shoot first and ask questions later.
The other is the display of belligerence in sectors of the capitalist class which have been expressing increasingly sharp opposition over Johnson's escalation of the war in Vietnam. These circles, which have insisted on the tactical inadvisability of the escalation in Vietnam and the danger that it could touch off World War III, have abruptly switched. They are insisting -- and in no mild terms -- that Johnson take a "firm stand" against Nasser's assertion of the sovereignty of the United Arab Republic over the Gulf of Aqaba.
The New York Times, which has campaigned persistently over the past two years for a tactical modification of U.S.
"And at present, sparks are flying | in the vicinity of the fuse."
In an editorial in the same issue, this influential newspaper expressed its apprehensions:
"It is true that the war in Vietnam has now reached a critical stage. The expansion of the bombings of North Vietnam has posed the danger of seriously influencing the U.S.-Soviet and U.S.-China relations, while the killing and injuring of ‘innocent' people and the utter destruction of villages and fields through the ‘scorched earth' strategy in South Vietnam have brought about a stage that can no longer be left alone notwithstanding the premise that 'this is war.'
"Moreover, huge American troops reinforcements are reported.
"The vicious circles of aggravation and escalation have been repeatedly carried out in this struggle, making this a war termed a 'fight without strategy.' Hence, any further escalation of the present hostilities must be thwarted by all possible means."