SYRIA: Open House

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The Syrian government, which for weeks virtually cut off all communications with the outside world, and in its heavily censored press permitted only the official Russian version on Hungary to be printed, suddenly flung wide its doors to the West last week. For U.S. reporters who have been trying ever since the Suez invasion to find out who is running Syria, portly President Shukri el Kuwatly, 65, held genial open house. The reversal reflected Syrian concern over Western journalistic coverage, much of it highly exaggerated, of a Soviet take-over in Syria.

U.S. correspondents in Damascus watched some 3,000 Syrian volunteers parade with oily new Czech-made Tommy guns, and had a look at artillery and tanks newly arrived from Soviet-bloc countries. The Syrian army chief firmly denied that Soviet-type planes had arrived recently in Syria. Syria, an economically sound if politically unhealthy nation, is getting arms cut-rate from Russia, and paying out of current funds. Unlike Nasser's Egypt, which has mortgaged perhaps half of its cotton crop to pay for Communist arms, Syria is in little danger of having its exports cornered by the Russians (Syria's trade with the Soviet bloc was only 1 ½% of its total last year).

Buttering Up. Relaxed and good-humored in his brocade-hung palace reception room, President Kuwatly praised Eisenhower's intervention over Suez—though the Syrian press has steadily thanked Russia for bringing a Middle East ceasefire. Said Kuwatly to TIME Correspondent John Mecklin: "Syria was always friendly to the U.S. except during the bad times of Mr. Truman." Kuwatly recalled that just after World War I, Syrians had asked for U.S. in preference to French mandate rule, and he brought up a familiar subject: "All our trouble with you has been the fruit of the Jews."

What would Syria think of an Israeli settlement now? "If Chicago had been occupied by people from all over the world—Filipinos, Russians, Australians, all gathered together for religion—and they were holding the door open to unlimited immigration and you could see Chicago growing to a population of 10 million, what would you do? Exchange ambassadors and shake hands?"

Kuwatly scoffed at stories that the mysterious Colonel Abdel Hamid Serraj, 31, chief of army intelligence, is actually boss of the army and the government. "I've been a politician 45 years. I'm free, as President, to give orders to anyone I want. I'm prisoner of nobody. As for the colonels in our army, they do what they're told." But if beaver-busy Serraj does not run the country, his political seniors cannot run it without him, either. Said big, bald Prime Minister Sabri el Assali: "We are in complete agreement—President, government, people, army."

Assali also blamed the U.S. for the existence of Israel, and added: "There's an