Must Jordan be another Vietnam?

Invasion 'not ruled OUl' NIXON ENVOY AMERICAN intervention in the Middle East cannot be ruled out. President Nixon was now scrutinizing National Security Council plans to safeguard US. interests in the area, Herbert G. Klein, White House director of communications, said in London yesterday.

'One of the things the president does in any situation is mobilize the national security council to draw up contingency plans to safeguard our interests, he is now studying these closely,' said Klein.

'On the question of intervention I would say what the president's press secretary has said. That is, that it has certainly not been in ed but, but it has certainly not been ruled He said that he was not aware that pressure from the Russians had been put on the Syrians to invade and expressed the hope that both the US, Britain and the Soviet Union would urge a withdrawal of their troops from Jordan.

I think that there is no doubt that the situation in the Middle East is a dangerous one. There is the danger of a confrontation with the super-powers and we don't want to be sucked into this kind of confrontation.' The ceasefire negotiations had not broken down completely, so that when the immediate situation was past, he thought that longerrange talks could proceed.

The President would not necessarily be discussing the Middle East with heads of state when he begins his European tour on Sunday.

Closer ties between the US and Europe and joint interests in the Mediterranean would be the main topics. Halt the US aggressors DECISIVE working-class action can still prevent American imperialim turning the Middle Kant into another more bloody Vietnam.

A noose of US troops, carriers, warships and armour is now being drawn tighter and tighter around the cockpit of the Arab Revolution in North Jordan and Amman.

Eighteen US Army transport aircraft landed in Turkey on Tuesday from an American base in West Germany.

Though an army spokesman at Incirlik air base refused to confirm this, it is generally believed that the Turkish base —barely an hour's flight from Jordan—is now swarming with US troops ferried from Europe.

All White House and State Department claims that this massive force is to be used for the rescue' of about 500 American citizens in Jordan are lies.

Every US ship, plane and weapon now concentrated in the area has one purpose only — to crush the Palestinian guerrillas.

And all these moves against the Arabs have the silent support of the Soviet bureaucracy.

Treachery

Acting on a request by Nixon, Heath and the butcher Hussein, the Kremlin has already called on Syria to end its support for the guerrillas in N Jordan.

This treacherous undertaking was being described yesterday in imperialist diplomatic circles as 'one of the few optimistic developments' of the Jordan crisis.

Nixon has a clear strategy.

His armed forces mount DEK SUPPORT 7R DISPUTE BRISTOL SUPPORT La di CONFERENCE struggle and the St George's Hall, Lime St LIVERPOOL Saturday October 2.30 p.m. - 6 p.m.

redentlals and visitors' cards 5s each from Con ecretary, W. Hunter, 58 Leighton View, Liverp Liberals worried about obituary AT THE Liberal Party Conference's opening session yesterday a resolution by Mr John Pardoe, MP for N Cornwall, to suspend standing orders so that a debate could be held on party strategy was defeated.

Speaking on the motion Mr Pardoe had said that if strategy was not discussed before Friday the Liberals obituary would have already appeared in the press.

ALL. TRADES UNIONS ALLIANCE The Pilkington Defeat the proposed Tory right to strike anti-union laws Swindon engineers adopt fighting anti-Tory policy SWINDON district committee of the Amalgamated Union of Engineering and Foundryworkers has adopted a five-point programme for mobilizing engineering workers against Tory attacks on wages and conditions.

Conference

Feather General Secretary

to Workers Press on :

• Wages • Anti-union laws • Productivity and unemployment • Victimization at Pilkington's An exclusive interview with Stephen A must for every trade unionist. Telephone all orders to 01-720-2000. limit action A SURPRISE move by Fire Brigade Union leaders switched the basis of discussion at yesterday's national delegates conference to possible industrial action over a country-wide pay claim.

next Monday.

Delegates arriving for the conference - some 280 of them, representing 30,000 fireThis fighting resolution -carried overwhelmingly—contrasts sharply with the round of private dinners with nationalized-industry chiefs, judges and bankers which Trades Union Congress leaders began this week; apparently in the hope of building up pressure against the Tories' anti-union plans.

'In consideration of the coming to power of the Tory government and in view of the preparations by the emsed the following policy statement 1. No Measured-Day Work!

• No intensification of working conditions 2. Full support for any group of workers for "acrossthe Cost.o" ving in ease with 3. No sackings! Any which cannot give security to its workers must be nationalso ting Contention of sip.

uilding and Engineering Jnions!

Equal pay

4. Full support to the fight for equal. pay. for women workers; we cannot allow women's wages to be used to undermine men's wages!

5. Complete rejection of any ›roposed anti-trade union egislation by a Tory government!

The committee also decided on immediate preparations for a campaign to mobilize engineering workers throughout the Swindon district to fight for this programme when the time arises. NEXT SATURDAY September 26 Union may by firemen men-were lobbied by some of the 85 Essex men locked out for taking action in support of their demand that a £63-a-year outer London 'weighting' is paid to all stations in the area. See photo page 4.

ON AGENDA The three-month-old Essex 'emergency-calls-only' dispute, which exploded into suspensions without pay after being escalated two weeks ago, was placed on the agenda of the delegates' conference earlier this week alongside the Home Office's notorious Holroyd Report on the fire service A large proportion of London's 4,000 firemen were yesterday in the second day of their 'emergency - calls - only action' in support of the Essex men.

NO WAGES month Chelmsfor 85 men Loughton; families without money', read one huge placard carried by Essex lobbyists as the London conference began.

Another accused the chief destroy our union front line Essex fire officer of 'trying to told the workers Press agate entered the conference.

"The Tories are out to smash all social services and we seem to be the first they take on — of course it's tied up with the local authority workers' claim as well.' But the FBU executive is believed to be recommending a return to normal working in both Essex and London before

Middle East to be the preserve of imperialism and the oil monopolies.

All advocates of Stalinist "peaceful co-existence with imperialism' should listen to Yassir Arafat's description of the scene in • Amman yesterday, scene of the most terrible massacres by Hussein's royalist butchers:

'Amman is burning for the possible national action from next Monday.

And several delegates arriving for yesterday's conference expressed disquiet about the implications of the executive's surprise pay move.

'If they're proposing just a where, Action, we'll get no- week's national "emergency said one London militant.

"The Essex men could find themselves dropped—like our rent allowance claim got dropped last year — for a settlement that would be very little use to any of us.' • See Late News