The relative needs of Israel and Saudi Arabia for large scale infusions of U.S. military hardware has punctuated a dispute between two members of the House International Affairs Committee. The matter came to a head last Friday when Rep. Benjamin Rosenthal (D.NY) introduced a resolution calling for scrutiny of U.S. arms deals with Saudi Arabia.
Rep. Clement J. Zablocki. (D. Wisc) introduced a resolution immediately afterwards asking Congress to disapprove the sale of 25 F-15 fighter planes to Israel. The committee will resume consideration of the arms sales when Congress reconvenes next month after its holiday recess.
Zablocki objected to the F-15 contract, said to amount to $600 million, noting that the proposal came at the same time that Rosenthal was opposing the sale of $1.5 billion worth of weapons to Saudi Arabia. Rosenthal, in letter to Zablocki, said the Wisconsin Congressman had presented a “serious misrepresentation of my views” and added, “To characterize the two deals covered by our respective resolutions as you have is grossly inaccurate. Each transaction must stand on its own.”
Rosenthal pointed out in his letter that “The Saudis, with their unlimited resources and market access; are undertaking a major expansion of their own forces along with generously supplying and bank-rolling the forces of all the Arab confrontation states. At the same time, the Israelis, with most limited resources and market access, are attempting to modernize their ageing air force.”
SAUDIA’S OPERATION SKIMMED OVER
Rosenthal observed further that the House Committee “has discussed at great length Israel’s defense needs while at best skimming over the questions posed by Saudi Arabia’s military expansion and third party supply role or the vital question of Saudi discrimination against American citizens and businesses.”
In his resolution questioning the deals with Saudi Arabia. Rosenthal noted that the current sale before Congress would bring U.S. sales to that country over an 82-day period this fall to nearly $3.5 billion which could be “a record year” for such sales. He also cited State Department projections of “at least another billion, but if experience is any indication, that is a conservative estimate.”
Rosenthal said U.S. arms sales to Saudi Arabia total approximately half of the sales to all of the oil-producing Persian Gulf states and more than a third of the $9 billion in sales to all countries this fiscal year.
Zablocki said that in offering his resolution “I want to make it abundantly clear that I recognize and support the preservation of the State of Israel. Where I do depart and begin to take exception is the point at which we begin to equate Israel’s preservation exclusively and solely in military terms,” he said.
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