Sen. Alfonse D’Amato (R. N.Y.) submitted a resolution in the Senate yesterday calling on the U.S. to “proceed with the sale and delivery of F-16 aircraft to Israel” without” any further delay.” The measure has six co-sponsors and will be sent to the International Operations Subcommittee.
The resolution referred to 75 F-16 fighter-bombers promised Israel in 1979 to offset U.S. weapons sales to Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia. President Reagan said a week ago that he would not send official notification of the sale to Congress, as required by law, until an agreement is reached on the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanon. The aircraft are scheduled for delivery in 1985.
D’Amato’s resolution described Israel as “a proven and trusted ally of the United States” and maintained that “the security interests of Israel and the United States are closely linked.” It referred to “an unprecedented arms build-up in the Middle East” by the Soviet Union and claimed that “the politics pursued by the Soviets and their allies in the region pose a clear and immediate threat to the security of Israel.”
The resolution also noted that the U.S. “has formally committed itself to continue to maintain Israel’s defensive strength through the supply of advanced types of equipment such as the F-16 aircraft” and that the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff “have endorsed the sale of F-16 aircraft to Israel.”
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