Defense Secretary Melvin Laird said today that the United States is carrying out its commitments made to Israel before the Middle East cease-fire went into effect Aug. 7 and is continuing to deliver Phantom jets to Israel. Secretary Laird made it clear at a Pentagon press conference that the Phantoms were those that had been scheduled for delivery before the truce. He said it had been expected that the deliveries would be completed by the time the cease-fire began but “the situation is such that the aircraft referred to had not been fully delivered.” He added, “I think it was understood that those deliveries and commitments would be made.” Mr. Laird refused to go into details on the deliveries or to say whether the U.S. would replace Phantoms lost by Israel. He would not say whether other types of weapons are being supplied to Israel at this time. But in a letter to Sen. John Stennis, chairman of the Armed Services Committee which was made public here yesterday, Mr. Laird disclosed officially that the U.S. was delivering weapons to Israel to ensure that the “arms balance does not tip against Israel.” Referring to his letter today, the Defense Secretary said the U.S. was determined to maintain the power balance in the Mideast.
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