— Former Vice President Walter Mondale blasted the Reagan Administration’s proposal to sell advanced warning radar planes (AWACS) to Saudi Arabia as the “most destabilizing step in the Middle East in this generation” and called for continued U.S. political and military support for Israel.
Addressing the Jewish Federation Council of Greater Los Angeles-United Jewish Welfare Fund Attorney’s Division, Mondale said the sale of AWACS, if approved, would strip away the element of surprise necessary for Israel’s defense. He termed that element “one of the most precious strategic assets (of Israel), priceless to a small nation with a citizen army.”
Mondale said he recognized the importance of good relations between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia, but, he noted, that does not mean that the U.S. must respond affirmatively to every request from that country for advanced military equipment, particularly when that equipment could be used to threaten the security of Israel. “There is no lasting security for anyone if arms sales are substitutes for good sense,” he warned. “In my judgement, neither the selling of AWACS nor enhancing the capability of the Saudi F-15’s do anything to increase stability in the Middle East.”
The former Vice President suggested that the U.S. continue to talk to the Saudis about their “true security needs,” but not sell them arms that could adversely affect Israel’s ability to defend herself.
In a ringing statement of support for Israel, Mondale termed the country “one of the most important assets our nation possessess–a loyal democratic state in a volatile area–one of the cornerstones of the Western alliance.” He also had words of tribute for Israel’s maintenance of democratic institutions when, he observed, there were many excuses that could have been used to undermine those institutions.
Mondale, currently a senior partner in the Chicago law firm of Winston and Strawn, concluded that Israel must remain strong in order to keep the peace in the Middle East. He proposed a three-point plan for that purpose: increased military aid, the availability of advanced technology, and strong U.S. support for the multi-lateral force to be established in the Sinai as part of the Camp David accords.
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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.
