Sen. James L. Buckley said on his arrival here last night that he would urge President Ford to provide Israel with greater than average military assistance and expressed concern over the Ford Administration’s current reassessment of American Middle East policy. “This is no time to re-evaluate our policy towards Israel–it is a time to re-affirm it,” the New York Republican-Conservative said.
Buckley declined to comment on the latest developments which included a reported Ford ultimatum to Israel to soften its position on an interim agreement with Egypt, The Senator will meet with Premier Yitzhak Rabin, Defense Minister Shimon Peres and other government officials during his stay in Israel.
Buckley said he was concerned over Portugal’s refusal to allow U.S. transports to use Azores airfields for an arms airlift to Israel in the event of another Middle East war. For that reason, he said, Ford should consider the need to provide Israel with larger than average stores of military equipment, spare parts, combat consumables, up-to-date aircraft, surface-to-surface missiles and related materials needed to meet the military threat to Israel’s survival. Buckley said this war materiel should be stored in several parts of the world, including the Middle East.
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