Sen. Harold E. Hughes, Iowa Democrat, declared yesterday that “the United States has a total commitment to Israel” and maintained that “there is no comparison between Israel and Vietnam.” Hughes, frequently mentioned as a possible Presidential nominee in 1972, replied to questions on the Middle East and Indo-China on the NBC television program “Meet The Press.” He said the U.S. was trying to keep the balance of power between Israel and the Arab nations supplied by Soviet Russia but “the balance of power has been on the minus side for Israel.” He said the ratio was about 4-1 in the Arabs’ favor though it was offset by “the improved efficiency in training of the Israelis themselves.” Hughes is opposed to continued American involvement in Indo China. He observed that unlike South Vietnam “Israel has not asked us to supply manpower and come in and fly airplanes and fight their war for them. They are quite willing to do the fighting themselves if we maintain the balance of power,” he said.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
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.
