Saying that United States’ Middle East policy “must have one principle–that Israel shall live and thrive with its neighbors,” Ramsey Clark today released a major position paper which called for the establishment of direct negotiations between Israel and the Arab states aimed toward a political settlement.
Speaking at a press conference at the Isaiah Wall opposite the United Nations, Clark, who is seeking the Democratic Party nomination for the U.S. Senate, said “while the United States cannot–and should not–dictate the terms for negotiating a settlement, our policy should encourage realistic negotiations based on fundamental principles.”
At the same time he said the U.S. “must make a full and unequivocal commitment to provide Israel the arms that will deter any attack, the resources that will keep it free from want and the friendship that will sustain it through any adversity.”
CITES COMMON MARKET AS EXAMPLE
Pointing out that “political negotiations can lessen the short term risks of war in the Middle East” but “not create solid foundations for a permanent peace,” Clark, a former U.S. Attorney General, called in his position paper for the establishment of a Middle East Economic Community based on the example of the European Common Market.
“A permanent peace requires social and economic development to improve the lives of all the people in the area,” he added. “Just as France and Germany, which have a longer history of conflict and rivalry than Israel and the Arab states, are profiting by their cooperation in the European Economic Community, so can the nations of the Middle East prosper through economic exchange,” and tackle problems of irrigation, housing, health and education on a regional basis.
Clark, who visited Israel last year, said such an organization could help the nations of the Middle East “to speak the language of peace and development in place of the language of war and destruction.” He said the money to fund a Mideast developmental authority should come from sources to include the oil-rich nations of the area, oil companies, international monetary funds, the Soviet Union and Western Europe. Clark added that as Senator he would work to have the United States contribute $2 billion a year for 10 years.
“Realistically, the full implementation of such an authority will depend on progress toward a political settlement in the Middle East,” he stated. “It is tragically wrong, however, to postpone discussions of such a project until after political negotiations.”
PROPOSES THREE PRINCIPLES
In his position paper, Clark also scored what he called America’s “inadequate” Middle East policy. “Uncertain signals about the objectives and intentions of U.S. policy have been sent to both friend and foe, and the result has been unease among our Israeli friends and misplaced confidence among Arab states,” he said. Clark proposed three principles that should be the foundation of a U.S. Middle East policy:
Israel shall live within secure borders. “Our policy must encourage the Arab states and the Palestinians to accept the existence of the State of Israel, and to agree that there will be outside guarantees of Israel’s sovereign right to exist; once a responsible Palestinian leadership emerges that renounces the use of terror and recognizes Israel’s right to exist within secure borders, it should be included in political negotiations; and Congress should amend the Export Administration Act to make it illegal for U.S. companies to accede to Arab demands for a boycott of Israeli goods, personnel and services.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
