The Dilemma for the U.S.

Yet there are many in the Middle East who believe that the fedayeen pose the greatest long-run threat not to Israel but rather to Hussein and Nasser. In Jordan, the fedayeen in a recent showdown with the King won the right to run their own military show without interference from the Jordanian army (TIME, Nov. 22). So great is the popular groundswell for the movement that no Arab leader dares condemn it or openly talk peace on any terms that Israel might be likely to accept. Israel has not helped by its policy of holding each Arab government responsible for the acts of the fedayeen launched from its territory—though it is hard to see what else Israel could do. Caught between the Israelis and their own milA problem of militant populations, Arab leaders could be pushed to extremes to which they do not want to go. Lest he appear less militant than the guerrillas, Nasser has sent half of Egypt's 141st battalion to southern Jordan and last October Egyptian forces launched an artillery attack on Israel for no other apparent purpose than to silence sniping at home about his comparative lack of zeal against Israel.