ONTO THE BANDWAGON GAMAL ABDEL NASSER STILL HAD THE MOST POPULAR COMMODITY 
IN THE MIDDLE EAST THE LURE OF ARAB UNITY . A 
14-MAN ALGERIAN DELEGATION, HEADED BY DEFENSE MINISTER HOUARI BOUMEDIENNE SHOWED UP 
IN CAIRO TO PAY ITS RESPECTS . " REGARDING ARAB UNITY, 
" SAID BOUMEDIENNE, / OUR OBJECTIVE SHOULD BE THE CREATION OF 
SOLID, STRONG AND HEALTHY BASES . THE ARAB PEOPLE ARE NOT 
READY TO ACCEPT ANOTHER SETBACK, ANOTHER LETDOWN . FOR THAT REASON, 
ALL STEPS TOWARD ARAB UNITY MUST BE ABSOLUTELY UNSHAKEABLE . " 
NASSER AGREED COMPLETELY . " WE REFUSE, IF ANYBODY ASKS US, 
" HE SAID, " TO FORM A NOMINAL UNION FOR OUTWARD 
APPEARANCES . " LATER, HE FERVENTLY TOLD A SYRIAN DELEGATION HEADED 
BY BAATH PARTY LEADERS MICHEL AFLAK AND SALAH EL-BITAR : " 
WE BELIEVE THE TIDE OF REVOLUTIONARY UNION IN THIS GENERATION IS 
A HISTORIC OPPORTUNITY WHICH WILL NOT REPEAT ITSELF . " HE 
ALSO SUGGESTED THAT THE BAATHISTS BROADEN THEIR NEW SYRIAN GOVERNMENT TO 
BRING IN POPULAR THAT IS, NASSERITE ELEMENTS . " MAN OF 
CRISES . " HE GOT FAST RESULTS . WITHIN THREE DAYS, 
PRO-NASSER LIEUT . GENERAL LOUAI ATTASSI WAS NAMED PRESIDENT OF THE 
SYRIAN COUNCIL OF THE REVOLUTIONARY COMMAND, AND THE COUNCIL ITSELF WAS 
ENLARGED TO ADMIT A NASSERITE MAJORITY . ATTASSI PREDICTED THAT UNION 
WITH EGYPT AND IRAQ WOULD BE ACHIEVED " SHORTLY, " CLAIMING, 
" THIS TRIPARTITE FEDERATION WILL SPREAD AND SPREAD UNTIL THE ENTIRE 
ARAB WORLD FROM THE ATLANTIC OCEAN TO THE PERSIAN GULF IS 
UNIFIED IN ONE POWERFUL STATE, WEIGHING HEAVILY IN THE BALANCE OF 
WORLD POWER . " EVEN ONE OF NASSER'S ENEMIES IN THE 
ARAB WORLD THE HASHEMITE KINGDOM OF JORDAN SHOWED SIGNS LAST WEEK 
OF BEING DISCREETLY AVAILABLE . IN HIS STONE BASMAN PALACE IN 
AMMAN, GUARDED BY CIRCASSIAN TROOPERS IN ASTRAKHAN HATS, JORDAN'S KING HUSSEIN 
DEFTLY SHIFTED PRIME MINISTERS . OUT WENT MUSCULAR WASFI TAL, 43, 
AN EFFICIENT BUT NASSER-HATING ADMINISTRATOR . IN CAME JORDAN'S " MAN 
OF CRISES, " FIVE-TIME PRIME MINISTER SAMIR RIFAI, 62, WHO HAS 
BEEN CAMPAIGNING IN RECENT MONTHS FOR MORE DEMOCRACY INSIDE JORDAN AND 
AN END TO ANTAGONISM AGAINST NASSER . WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE ? 
AFTER A LATE NIGHT TALK, KING HUSSEIN AND RIFAI AGREED ON 
A NEW GOVERNMENT, LOOKING TOWARD PARLIAMENTARY DEMOCRACY AND HUSSEIN'S EVENTUAL RETIREMENT 
TO THE FIGUREHEAD ROLE OF A CONSTITUTIONAL MONARCH . THEY EVEN 
GINGERLY ACCEPTED THE NASSER-BAATH SLOGAN OF " FREEDOM, UNITY, SOCIALISM, " 
WITH ONLY THE SLIGHT AMENDMENT OF THE FINAL WORD TO READ 
" A BETTER LIFE . " WHAT WAS STILL UNCERTAIN LAST 
WEEK WAS WHETHER NASSER IS PREPARED TO DROP OR MODIFY HIS 
PRESENT DETERMINATION TO UNITE ONLY WITH " LIBERATED " ARAB STATES 
AND TO SHUN MONARCHIES . SAID NEW JORDANIAN PRIME MINISTER RIFAI 
: " WE HAVE OUR PRIDE . WE ARE JUST AS 
HEALTHY AND STRONG AS ANY ARAB STATE . WE DON'T INTEND 
TO RUSH INTO ANYTHING, BUT WE DO INTEND TO PROCLAIM OUR 
GOOD WILL AND OUR ATTACHMENT TO ARAB UNITY . " THEN 
HE ADDED HOPEFULLY, " THERE'S EVERY REASON FOR THE NEW ARAB 
UNION TO WELCOME JORDAN AND NO REASON TO BAR A CONSTITUTIONAL 
MONARCHY . WE HAVE MORE FREEDOM THAN MANY REPUBLICS . WHAT'S 
THE DIFFERENCE ANYWAY BETWEEN A CONSTITUTIONAL PRESIDENT AND A CONSTITUTIONAL KING 
? / 