Sen. Daniel Moynihan (D. NY) pledged yesterday to filibuster in the U.S. Senate against the sale of AWACS to Saudi Arabia. Addressing the 68th annual meeting of the National Commission of the Anti-Defamation League of B’nai B’rith here Moynihan declared: “While I have voice, there will not be such a bill passed in the U.S. Senate — in the South, they call it a filibuster. In the north it is referred to as extended debate.”
At the same time, he warned that the Syrian missile crisis stems from a deliberate Soviet attempt
to test the resolve of the Reagan Administration. Referring to the controversy over the sale of AWACS to the Saudis, the Senator told the ADL meeting that Saudi security needs can be satisfied through the use of American-owned and operated AWACS which are already based in the region. He said that American efforts to deliver sophisticated offensive equipment to the Saudis for use with F-15 planes they already possess constitutes “violation of a commitment made to the U.S. Senate” at the time of the sale of the planes that there would be “no enhancement.”
Nevertheless, he went on to say, the Reagan Administration is “the most sympathetic” to Israel of any Administration “in recent memory.”
REPORT CARD ON REAGAN ADMINISTRATION
Speaking at an earlier session, Nathan Perlmutter, ADL director, told the commission that the Reagan Administration’s “balance sheet” on issues relating to Israel has significant “plusses.” But, he added, the Administration’s planned sole of AWACS reconnaissance planes and enhancement equipment for the 62 F-15s sold to Saudi Arabia is a “minus” which will continue to be opposed.
He listed as “plusses” the Administration’s “plain-spoken description” of the PLO as terrorist; its expulsion of the Libyan Mission in Washington, “in stark contrast” to previous government “waffling;” and authorizing Israel to sell military equipment to allies, “a consequential boon to Israel’s economy.”
Other “plusses” Perlmutter listed were sparing Egypt and Israel from deep federal budget cuts; rejecting the “false notion” that the Palestinian issue is the keystone of peace in the Middle East; and the Administration’s rejection of the “European initiative,” which he called a “euphemism for both oil thirst and for the entrapment of Israel.”
Perlmutter also said U.S. plans for a multinational force in the Sinai is “a plus for peace.” He lauded the “refreshing” U.S. representation in the United Nations.
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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.
