Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir will not press for “strategic cooperation” with the United States when he visits Washington this week, but will rather leave it to President Reagan and his aides to raise this matter.
Highly placed sources in Jerusalem said this approach had been decided upon in preliminary consultations here involving Shamir and Defense Minister Moshe Arens, who will accompany him.
“It is not for us (Israel) to press on this matter,” the sources explained. They indicated that the U.S. could be expected to suggest some elements of “strategic cooperation,” such as the pre-positioning of strategic supplies and medical equipment on Israeli soil. But they cautioned against exaggerated expectations in this connection.
The sources said Shamir and Arens would be doing a lot of “playing by ear” since as far as Israel knew the U.S. itself was still working out the precise positions it would adopt during the summit talks with the Israeli leaders.
FIVE BROAD ISSUES
They said Israel for its part would want to air five broad issues:
* Economic aid, both its scope and conditions. Israel is striving to receive as large as possible a proportion of its American aid in the form of grants rather than loans payable at interest.
The high sources said if Israel’s hopes are realized in this sphere “this will enable the economic recession and the drastic measures being taken a chance of succeeding” in restoring economic health.
* Trade. Israel is seeking tariff concessions and other benefits to encourage its exports to the U.S. “For America,” the sources said, “It’s a drop in a bucket. For us — it’s crucial.”
* Third World cooperation. The U.S., too, is interested in working with Israeli aid projects to Third World countries. The high sources insisted that what was intended was not military aid but rather agricultural and technological projects in Africa and Latin America. In some countries, they said, it was not convenient (or welcome) for the U.S. to send in its own experts.
* Military aid. Here Arens will submit detailed requests for new and modern systems to counter the rapidly growing Syrian Soviet-supplied armory.
*”Strategic cooperation.” A good deal has been rumored and written about this, but Israeli aides are cautious. They indicated that there are reservations both in Washington and in Jerusalem about too close a strategic relationship.
(There are clear signs too that this issue is fermenting dispute between the various elements of the American Administration with Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger less enthusiastic on high-profile relationships with Israel than other high officials.)
Meanwhile, there have been signals from Washington that the Reagan team firmly intends to raise its comprehensive peace proposals (the “Reagan Plan”) with Shamir and his party. Senior American officials, including Secretary of State George Shultz, Deputy Secretary of State Kenneth Dam and Undersecretary of State Lawrence Eagleburger, have said publicly of late that Reagan’s September 1982 Mideast peace plan is still very much Administration policy and will not be shelved because of election year.
Eagleburger, in an interview last week, made it clear that the Tripoli events may give a boost to the plan by bringing moderate Arabs — Palestinians and others — to reconsider the exclusive role previously given to the PLO to represent the Palestinian cause.
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