Gamal Abdel Nasser, no longer talking about "a role wandering the Arab world looking for a hero," last week issued a conciliatory statement designed to show that he 1) is not a Russian pawn, 2) is willing to respect international law (though he did not mention the Suez Canal) and 3) has no ambitions to dominate an Arab empire. Excerpts:
THE policy of Egypt is a policy of national independence. Egypt and Egyptians value this independence more than life itself.
I will not become the stooge or satellite or pawn or hireling of anybody. Just as Egypt is determined to have political independence,...