Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D. Mass.) believes that the Carter Administration’s position with respect to the Palestine Liberation Organization is a cause of “concern among Israelis. ” He also said, on a television interview yesterday, that no conditions can be “superimposed” on Egypt and Israel in their negotiations He characterized former Texas Gov. John Connally’s proposal to establish a U.S. military presence in the Middle East as “one of those vague generalities.”
Kennedy, a declared candidate for the Democratic Party’s Presidential nomination in 1980, appeared on the ABC-TV “Issues and Answers” program. He said that “the negotiations have to continue between Egypt and Israel” and expressed “hope that the process will continue” and that “other countries of the Middle East will join.”
He said “I do think there is concern among Israelis about the Administration’s posture and position with regard to the PLO” and referred to “the ambivalence of the Administration’s position as indicated by the informal contacts in Vienna, by Mr. (Andrew) Young’s conversations and by Mr. (Zbigniew) Brzezinski’s meeting with (Yasir) Arafat in Algeria. This is a matter I am sure, of concern to the Israelis, about what the U.S. position is,” Kennedy said.
In the context of his remarks on the Middle East, Kennedy charged that the Carter Administration is speaking with more than one voice on foreign policy matters. “There has to be a very clear understanding by our adversaries about what our interests are and where we consider those interests to be absolutely vital,” he said.
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