A top official of the Defense Department said today that “both the Department of State and the Department of Defense are conscious of the need to stabilize conditions in the Middle East area, particularly with reference to Israel and its neighboring Arab states.”
The statement was made in a letter to Rep. Samuel S. Stratton, New York Democrat, by Frank K. Sloan, deputy assistant Secretary of Defense, on behalf of Defense Secretary Robert McNamara. Mr. Sloan added that the United States held the view that “the introduction of weapons of mass destruction and sophisticated offensive weapons into the Middle East is inimical to our interests, as well as to those of the countries immediately concerned.”
He also declared that the recent decision to make the Hawk ground-to-air missile available to Israel to broaden its capability “for defense against manned aircraft demonstrates our government’s resolve to maintain a power equilibrium in the area.”
While the official said that there were some West Germans working on the United Arab Republic rocket program, he added that there is no evidence that any West Germans are working on nuclear, radiological or biological weapons.” Parenthetically, we have not been able to identify any prominent Nazis involved in any of the foregoing activities,” he declared.
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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.
