Frank Church (D. Idaho), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, called here tonight for “a fundamental review of U.S. policy with the government of Saudi Arabia,” including the advisability of proceeding with the F-15 sale to that country. In remarks prepared for delivery to the national executive of the Anti-Defamation League of B’nai B’rith meeting here, Church said: “I suggest that now is precisely the time to inform the Saudis that an ‘inner relationship’ cannot be a one way street.”
His text was devoted to steps the U.S. should take to revive the prospects for peace in the Middle East, including a call for an even-handed approach by the United States and an end to pressure on Israel to accept a peace treaty with Egypt that goes beyond the framework worked out in the Camp David accords.
“The United States consistently misjudged the situation in Iran” he said. “I fear that we are equally out of touch with the realities in Saudi Arabia and pinning our policy to false assumptions.” He suggested that Saudi Arabia itself has a vital interest in seeing an Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty signed. But at present, “Saudi Arabia has been for more of a detriment to peace than we are willing to admit,” he said.
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.
