Chairman Thomas E. Morgan of the House Foreign Affairs Committee is considering suggestions by a number of members of Congress for elimination of Egypt from the pending Foreign Aid Bill now before the committee because of Egypt’s aggressive military role and missile build-up.
Some Congressmen have not publicized moves to end assistance to the Nasser regime because they support other aspects of the President’s Foreign Aid program and do not want this side issue to hurt the bill’s chances. One approach to Rep. Morgan came from Rep. Benjamin S. Rosenthal, New York Democrat, who cited the danger of proliferation of the missile race through Nasser’s conduct. He urged an amendment to eliminate aid to Nasser.
Rep. Rosenthal proposed that “upon a finding by the President of the United States that Egypt is in fact producing or acquiring such weapons, its eligibility for all forms of United States foreign aid–technical assistance, military assistance, economic development aid, surplus food, etc., would be immediately suspended.”
He urged drafting of appropriate language to the pending legislation because nations diverting resources for offensive military projects have subordinated peaceful development “to the prospect of aggressive military adventures against their neighbors.” He told Rep. Morgan, “surely the American people have no desire to subsidize the prospect of such reckless aggression by offering foreign aid that, in part, replaces the domestic resources diverted from internal economic expansion.”
Senator Kenneth B.Keating, New York Republican, called for a revamping of American policies in the Near East and stressed that Egypt “would rate a low score” on guidelines he said were necessary in the new Foreign Aid legislation. He called for emphasis in backing those countries which use their own resources wisely and do not buy Soviet arms, also abiding “by principles of nondiscrimination and equality in their relations with other countries.”
Senator Keating said that “in spite of firm warnings by Congress and repeated demonstrations of Nasser’s determination to carry out his threat to drive the Israelis into the sea, we continue to send substantial amounts of foreign aid to this Middle East trouble-maker.” The Senator said “the sooner our Government recognizes that aid should not be given indiscriminately and that the cause of peace is not served by trying to appease Arab intransigeance, the sooner stability will come to the Middle East.”
Senator Keating saw the “best hope for peace” in convincing the world “we are deeply and irrevocably committed to a free and secure Israel and that we will not reward those who threaten Israel’s survival or violate international law through blockades and boycotts.”
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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.
