Fulbright Argues for Nuclear Treaty, Warns of Threat from Israel, Arab Weapons

Sen. J. W. Fulbright, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today opened the Senate debate on the nuclear non-proliferation treaty by asserting his arguments for the treaty, that nuclear weapons must be kept from Israel and the Arab states. Leading the fight for the treaty, the Arkansas Democrat asked the Senate “to contemplate the potential horrors of a world in which pigmy nuclear weapons powers abound; a world where Middle East crises are compounded by the introduction of nuclear weapons.” Sen. Fulbright termed the treaty a barrier against the spread of nuclear weapons and “as the framework for cooperation among the major powers to establish and maintain that barrier.” (Israel has not yet signed the pact.)

Sen. William B. Spong, Virginia Democrat, today told the Senate earlier that a recent trip to Israel and the Arab states gave him “little reason for optimism” about chances for peace in the Mideast. He said his observations led him to conclude that pressures within both Israel and the various Arab states have complicated efforts to settle the conflict.

Sen. Spong said that with the national election coming in Israel, “no political leader would want to be charged with compromise on basic conflict with the Arabs.” In the Arab states, said Sen. Spong, terrorist guerrilla groups have achieved enough power and support to inhibit any Arab government from conciliation in dealings with Israel.