President Johnson was urged today by members of Congress to desist from resuming aid to Egypt unless Egyptian President Nasser was willing to promise an end to his arms race and to cease fomenting wars in the Middle East. The State Department is urging the White House to renew large scale shipments of surplus commodities to Egypt.
Sen. Hugh Scott, Pennsylvania Republican, informed President Johnson that he objected to U.S. economic aid now planned for Egypt unless “very rigid conditions” were attached. The Senator suggested that the President link aid to Egypt with some manner of arms control. According to Sen. Scott, the U.S. policy in the Middle East has led Egypt and other Arab states “to infer that their attitude toward England, Israel, and other pro-Western governments was a matter of indifference to us.”
Sen. Abraham Ribicoff, Connecticut Democrat, warned of a continuing Egyptian military build-up for a “genocidal war against Israel” and urged the executive department to link resumption of aid to Egypt with proof by the Nasser regime of its peaceful intentions.
“If we make resumption of our aid conditional on the fulfillment of Egypt’s commitment under the U.N. charter to negotiate a settlement with her neighbors, to stop this exhausting arms build-up toward the military ultimate, then we may be able to effect a lasting peace,” the Senator said. He stressed that Nasser cannot obtain his food requirements from any nation except the United States and this provides a chance to demand conditions.
Rep. Benjamin S. Rosenthal, New York Democrat, in a letter to the President, noted that Congress this year voted to ban all assistance to Egypt unless the President finds such ais is in the national interest of the United States. The Congressman said Nasser’s policies have been “inimical to our policies.”
Rep. Leonard Farbstein, New York Democrat, urged Secretary of State Dean Rusk to attach a requirement that Egypt initiate peace talks with Israel as the price for resumption of United States aid. The Congressman, a member of the House Foreign Affairs committee, said Congress has taken a firm stand on aid to Egypt and that the State Department has shown no compelling reason for resumption of aid.
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