The Eleanor Roosevelt Papers, Digital Edition > My Day
My Day by Eleanor Roosevelt

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NEW YORK—Anyone who watched and listened to the new delegate to the United Nations from Iraq must have been interested to hear him remark that no blood had been shed in their taking over of the government. When reminded that three leaders had died, he made rather light of it and said that was only due to their own action not to those who brought about the coup d'etat!

Then we read in the newspapers the other morning that "an Iraqi Army officer" threatened the life of the representative of the pre-revolutionary government of Iraq to the United Nations.

This does not sound so peaceful, and it does not look as though any of the governments under the influence of the Soviet Union are being very peaceful.

In the morning papers, also, there was an announcement that leading members of the deposed Government of Iraq will be put on trial before the Military Tribunal. This seems almost ludicrous, for what will be said at that trial is a foregone conclusion.

There undoubtedly was discontent in Iraq among the people, which the army capitalized on in order to take over. They now call the government a republic. It is, however, no more truly a republic than it was before. The people have just changed masters. They may hope for better things, but we will have to wait and see.

We may be sure, however, that assurances and probably help was given to this military group by Nasser and the Soviets because they felt that the former government was orientated toward the West, and the present government is certainly going to be dominated by the Soviets through Nasser.

I think we are moving in the right direction by insisting that any summit meeting on the Middle East problems be held within the United Nations. One suggestion that I read proposed that the Security Council nominate a subcommittee to which the heads of Great Britain, France, the United States, the Soviet Union, and India would be appointed. This would certainly accomplish the result of calling together the heads of nations for a summit conference.

It will be interesting to the women of our country to see that the Assistant Chairman of the Republican National Committee, Bertha S. Adkins, has been nominated by the President to be Under Secretary of the Department of Health, Education and Welfare. She has had some experience as Dean of Women in two colleges, and since I hope that women in the United States are deeply interested in the basic changes needed in our educational system, this appointment may prove to be one of the very important ways in which women can exert more influence in those areas of work covered by this highly important department.

The past few days have given us a taste of fall. I cannot believe that this is a permanent sample of our July weather, and I hope it will soon give way to clearer skies and not quite such cool temperatures, though I do not dare ask for real hot weather either.

E.R.

(Copyright, 1958, by United Feature Syndicate, Inc.)


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About this document

My Day by Eleanor Roosevelt, July 25, 1958

Roosevelt, Eleanor, 1884-1962
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Digital edition created by The Eleanor Roosevelt Papers Project The George Washington University 312 Academic Building 2100 Foxhall Road, NW Washington, DC 20007

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Transcription created from a photocopy of a UFS wire copy of a My Day column instance archived at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Library.
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