Robert J. McCloskey, the United States Ambassador to The Netherlands, said in an interview published here today that the margins of U.S. policy in the Middle East are determined to a large extent by its feelings of bonds with Israel. McCloskey, who was formerly the State Department’s chief spokesman and has continued to follow Mideastern affairs closely, also told the Dutch daily, Trouw, that the U.S. never had a detailed, concrete plan for the solution of the Palestinian problem.
He said that while in Washington he had never seen a written blueprint for a “homeland for the Palestinians.” Such a blueprint was expected to emerge only from negotiations, he said. Asked if he thought the Palestine Liberation Organization should be involved in the current Middle East peace process, McCloskey replied: “If Israel does not want to negotiate with the PLO it will be extremely difficult for the United States to negotiate with the PLO,” He added that the PLO, in any case, must recognize Israel’s existence.
The Ambassador stressed that “no American administration can allow itself a real confrontation with Israel. But only because of that influence of the so-called Jewish lobby but also because sympathy for Israel is deeply rooted in the American people in view of what happened in Europe during the second World War and real admiration for Israel’s achievements.”
McCloskey noted that the Arab world was almost unknown to Americans for many years although this has changed recently, partly as a result of Egyptian President Armor Sadat’s visit to the U.S. However, the diplomat said, that development will never cause the U.S. to impose its will on Israel. “We cannot pressure Israel so that ultimately they will give in though we have a certain measure of influence with them,” he said.
U.S. HAS IMPORTANT MIDEAST ROLE
McCloskey admitted that the U.S. was surprised by Sadat’s decision to visit Israel last November and “it took some time to overcome this surprise.” But he insisted that despite that fact that Israel and Egypt are now engaged in direct negotiations that U.S. still has an important role to play in the Middle East and has not “been relegated to the role of spectator.”
He noted: “We still have considerable influence in both comps though it is no longer necessary that we travel from the one to the other to transmit messages and proposals. It is unthinkable that the United States should completely withdraw from an area where we have so many interests and with which we have occupied ourselves so intensively,” 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.
