Middle East: Arms for Embracing

Peter the Great, who dreamed more than two centuries ago of extending Russian influence into the Middle East, would have been pleased by the scene. There, deep in Egypt's interior, stood wide-cheeked, suntanned men in business suits, towheaded kids with braces on their teeth and sturdy blonde women waving Soviet flags. The Russians and their families, in fact, almost eclipsed the Egyptians at last week's ceremony marking the dedication of a memorial to Soviet-Egyptian friendship and the completion of major construction on the Aswan High Dam, whose 364-ft.-high wall of concrete and...

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