Foreign Policy Association Report Advocates U.S. Arms for Middle East

“The United States should shed its hesitation about becoming an arms supplier to the Middle East,” a report on Israel, issued today by the Foreign Policy Association, recommends. The report was written by Dr. Nadav Safran, associate professor of government at Harvard University and a member of the staff of the Harvard Center for Middle Eastern Studies.

Declaring that war between the Arabs and Israel is “unlikely,” the report said that the prospects of resolving the problems of Arab-Israeli hostility seem at the moment to be worse that they were 16 years ago. However, it adds, “the chances of checking dangerous manifestations of that hostility seem to be brighter now.”

Emphasizing that the borders between the Arab states and Israel “have been relatively quiet since 1957” and that, with few exceptions, shooting incidents have been successfully localized, the report points out that the Arab boycott of foreign firms doing business with Israel “has been slowly losing its effectiveness.”

“But,” the report continues, “there are problems to be watched. In 1964, the second Arab summit conference made plans to go ahead with the diversion of the Jordan’s tributaries, the conference of non-aligned nations in Cairo adopted a resolution supporting the Arab cause in Palestine, and plans were started for an Egyptian-Iraqi union. Israel’s reaction to these plans will depend a great deal on the position taken by the United States and other Western powers.”

The report also proposes some “careful, limited measures” that the U.S. might adopt to reduce tensions in the Arab-Israeli conflict. One recommendation is to promote a large-scale economic development program for Jordan, providing opportunities for jobs and self-advancement which may alleviate the refugee problem by inducing the refugees to leave their camps and try to rebuild their lives.” In another 16 years the refugee problem might be on its way to solution instead of becoming more aggravated than it is,” Dr. Safran predicts.

U.S. URGED TO PROTECT ISRAEL’S RIGHTS TO JORDAN RIVER WATERS

Dr. Safran feels it is important that the United States continue aid to Egypt in its economic and social development programs. By encouraging the Egyptian government to concentrate on internal improvements, Dr. Safran stated, the Egyptians may increase the responsiveness to “United States counsels of restraint.” His report warns, however, that there be no implication of a cooling-off toward Israel, nor should the United States feel bound to refrain from taking exception to Egyptian foreign policy when it feels such criticism is warranted.

In his comments on the vitally important Jordan River irrigation project, Dr. Safran notes that the United States has consistently supported Israel’s right to proceed with the plan. The author strongly submits that, if the Arab states go ahead with their plans to divert the river’s tributaries, “there should be no doubt of United States determination to help protect Israel’s legitimate rights.”

U.S. policy toward Israel, according to the author, is based on a firm foundation of mutual sympathy between two countries committed to “the same humanistic democratic values.” Dr. Safran stresses the importance this mutual commitment to democracy has for U.S. interests, citing how Israel’s economic achievements provide the many emerging nations with a rare example of a successful democracy in a new state.

Israel’s remarkable economic achievements in a limited area with few natural resources are described in the report. It is noted that Israel’s per capita income presently stands at $838, and that its gross national product has increased by an average of 10-11 percent a year over the last 13 years. “No other country in the world (outside the Communist bloc, whose figures are problematic) can boast such a level of sustained growth,” the report stresses, pointing out that this was achieved despite massive growth of population due to immigration, and the enormous resources Israel allots to defense.