Middle East and public affairs specialists at the Pentagon were represented today as being in general accord with suggestions in the Armed Forces Journal that the United States bring about the ouster of Israel’s Menachem Begin government by means such as propaganda techniques, diplomatic tactics and curtailment of military and economic assistance.
A well-placed Pentagon source told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that feeling among the “workers” at the Department of Defense concerned with the Middle East is that they regret the cover story article in the privately-owned monthly did not appear in a publication of wider circulation.
“It seems to be on the track,” the source replied when questioned by JTA how it was received at the Pentagon. “It’s in line with Pentagon policy. However, we don’t know what the Secretary’s views are.”
Defense Secretary Harold Brown and the Pentagon’s public relations chief, Assistant Secretary of Defense Tom Ross, were both in Norfolk, Va. today for the commissioning of the USS Eisenhower. Officially, the Pentagon would not comment on the article in accordance with departmental policy not to discuss published articles. Officers questioned about it asked not to be identified.
A pro-Israel comment was that the pentagon attitude was not surprising in view of the expressed comments that Israel is a burden and Jews control U.S. media and finance made by the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. George Brown.
The article, entitled “The Arab-Israeli Balance, How Much is Too Much?” emphasized that Israel is building up a military machine with U.S. help in excess of its defensive needs. The article said that Israel’s military stance “may well threaten the strategic interests of the United States and its allies.” The author, Anthony H. Cordesman, who served in the Pentagon until last May and now is in the Department of Energy, was described to JTA as inclined towards support of Saudi Arabia’s views of the Arab-Israeli conflict. (See full story of Armed Forces Journal in Oct. 18 issue of Bulletin.)
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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.
