Ford Says U.S. Will Re-examine the Mideast Situation and American Policy Toward That Area

President Ford told Congressional leaders today that the United States will re-examine the Middle East situation and American policy toward that area. “The re-examination will look into all aspects and all countries in the Middle East,” Presidential press secretary Ron Nessen explained to newsmen after Ford and Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger met with a dozen Congressional leaders of both parties at the White House.

The Congressmen emerged from the meeting saying the Mideast situation was depressing and discouraging but there was no feeling that war was imminent between Israel and Egypt, Nessen said the re-examination will be done as quickly as possible and that the President will oversee it. He said that Ford did not intend to assign blame for the rupture in Kissinger’s efforts to reach an agreement between Egypt and Israel in the Sinal. He added that the “President hopes” that “the prospect of war is highly unlikely.”

While Kissinger and Ford have not blamed any of the parties for the failure, observers noted that the whole tone of the discussion by Administration leaders seems to put Israel in a defensive position in regard to its relationship with the United States.

INTENSE PRESSURE ON ISRAEL EXPECTED

There is a feeling among these observers that the Administration will use the breakdown to set out its position on a settlement and put intense pressure on Israel to agree to the American view, The State Department Indicated that the re-examination would include a reduction in U.S. aid to Israel although it was not made clear in what area, Presumably it would be in military credits.

The implication here is that the Administration may insist that Israel be treated less as a favorite in the Mideast and that the U.S. would give more consideration to a settlement along the lines of United Nations Security Council Resolution 242 that would put Israel back to its pre-Six-Day War borders.

Kissinger in his review to the Congressional leadership, according to Nessen, concluded that the United States will now consider how to further the cause of peace including the possibilities of negotiations at Geneva. The possibility, Nessen indicated, exists that Kissinger’s step-by-step approach might be renewed. Nessen emphasized that the talks between Egypt and Israel are only suspended and that both countries have the opportunity to assess what the next step will be.

REASSESSMENT OR RE-EXAMINATION?

Asked whether sales of military equipment are involved in the U.S. re-examination, Nessen emphasized. “Don’t try to find exceptions” and he repeated “all aspects.” Nessen said Ford was “certainly disappointed.” He also said that Kissinger told the leadership that the U.S. will consider means of furthering ways of peace, including the Geneva conference.

After the Congressmen met with Ford and Kissinger, Democratic Senate Majority Leader Mike Mansfield said the Administration will make a “reassessment” of U.S. policy in the Mideast, “but I would hope this temporary failure will not become permanent and that the gravity of the situation will be recognized by all parties concerned.” He said the reassessment is under way. The Democratic Senator from Montana has been consistently cold toward Israel during his years in office.

Republican Minority Leader Sen. Hugh Scott of Pennsylvania, took exception to Mansfield’s term “reassessment.” calling it “a little strong” and said “re-examination is a better word.” Mansfield described the feeling at the meeting as “depressing and discouraging.” But Rep. John Rhodes (R.Arizona), the House Minority Leader, said there was no despair and that “you could be discouraged without being depressed.” Scott emphasized unity behind the President and Kissinger in which the other leaders concurred. House Speaker Carl Albert (D.Okla.) said the unity was 100 percent.

Noting that “the President’s promise that he will keep us intimately and immediately advised of any U.S. foreign policy decisions in this area,” Scott said, “Our opportunity exists as always to make clear to those who might express differing opinions which might in turn lead to a deterioration in the Middle East through divisiveness–that we will want to discourage that, that we would ask everyone in Congress at this point to be extremely careful not to endanger the policy position of the United States.”

Asked whether there was any lessening of U.S. cooperation with either Israel or Egypt, Mansfield said “The desire of this Administration is to cooperate with both countries to try and arrive at a decision affecting the Sinai. They came pretty close, but not close enough. And the result is that Secretary Kissinger had to return home at this time.”

The Congressional leaders stressed that Indochina had no relationship whatsoever with the Middle East problem. They rejected speculation that Kissinger’s efforts had failed because the Mideast countries had felt the U.S. had been weakened because of mounting Congressional resistance to giving more military aid to Cambodia and South Vietnam.

After arriving in Washington last night from his 15 days in the Middle East, both Ford and Kissinger stressed that the United States was ready to work with “other interested countries” in a continuing search for peace in the Mideast. Some observers felt that the reference to other countries referred to the Soviet Union, although neither mentioned the USSR. The USSR is cochairman of the Geneva conference and has been urging a return to Geneva as soon as possible.

“The necessities that produced the mission continue,” Kissinger said on the White House lawn, “and the need for lasting peace in the area remains.” Ford, in greeting Kissinger, said the U.S. would continue working for a lasting peace and would work with “other countries, all countries, in the national and international interest.”