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No U.S. Pol icy for Latin America?
The United States, preoccupied by Watergate,
lndochina, the "Year of Europe," and improving rela–
tions witb the Soviet Union and the People's Republic
of China, has been neglecting a region close to borne -
Latín America.
Latín America is undergoing its greatest period of
change since its independence
150
years ago. In Argen–
tina, former dictator General Juan Peron has again
taken tbe reins of government after nearly
18
years of
exile. In neighboring Chile, a country with a previously
stable democratic political history, a military coup in
September toppled the three-year-old government of
Marxist Presiden! Salvador Allende. Brazil - the
"Japan of the Western Hemisphere" - is experiencing
phenomenal economic growth and
is
now confident of
becoming a super-power by the end of the century.
At the same time, relations between the United
States and Latín America are at their Iowest point in
50
years, despite Secretary of State William Rogers' fence–
mending tour last May. To roany Latín Americans, the
United States is not as interested in developroents and
problems below the Rio Grande as it should be.
Observers warn that iftheUnited States doesn't raise
its profile in the hemispbere, Latín America could even–
tually drift far afield from U. S. inftuence. Sorne countries
could drift into the communist orbit. The result would be
disastrous for the massive U. S. investment there, cur–
rently totalling $14 bi llion. In addition, the increasing
interest in Laün America on the parts of Japan and
Western Europe could lead those two areas to carve out
their own spheres of inftuence on the Continent.
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lran Seeks Dominant Role
in Gulf
Long a strategic crossroads between Europe and
Asia, the oil-rich nation of l ran (Persia) is today seeking
to become the dominan! economic and military power
in the pivotal Persian Gulf region. Since the withdrawal
of British military forces from the Gulf in late 1971 ,
Iran has been moving to fill the power vacuum and
PLAIN TRUTH December 1973
assume a role as guardian of this vital. world oil
lifeline. In the words of lranian Premier Amir Abbas
Hoveida:
"The waterway ... must remain open to all coun–
tries for international navigation and commerce, and
we have the determination and the capacity to see
that it does."
Iran sees neighboring Soviet-supported Iraq and
communist revolutionary movements in nations border–
ing the Gulf as the two primary threats to the security
of the strategic waterway.
The United States and Britain, aware of the strate–
gically importan! role of lran, bave contracted to sell
nearly $3 billion in military equipment to tbe Shah -
including F-4 Phantom fighter-bombers, helicopter
gunships and personnel carriers, gunboats, destroyers,
tanks, hovercraft,
and sophis ticated
laser- guided
bombs. lran is
also constructing
air
bases and na–
va1 stations along
the Gulf coast.
The signifi–
cance? One third
of the world's oil
originates in the
Gulf area. Japan
depends on na–
tions surrounding
the Gulf for 90%
of its oil; Western
Europe, for 60%.
lran's Shah Mohammed
Riza Pahlevi
Moreover, 60% of the world's proven reserves are lo–
cated there. Of further significance is the possibility that
tbe United States, presently importing only a small
percentage of its oil from Iran, may in the future de–
pend heavily on that nation should other oil-producing
countries in the area carry out their veiled threats to cut
off supplies to pro-Israelí nations. In short, world stabil–
ity is, to a large degree, dependen! on the security and
stability of the Gulf region.
- edited by Gene Hogberg
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