The State Department is considering two applications from Israel for the purchase of American arms, Secretary of State Dean Acheson today revealed. He made this statement to 30 members of Congress who conferred with him for one hour over the shipment of British arms to the Arab states.
The applications that the State Department has under consideration, Mr. Acheson said, are: 1. A request for permission to make direct purchases of radar, range finders and other highly technical war materiel; and, 2. A request for an export license for this materiel.
After the interview, Secretary Acheson was quoted as saying that he would confer with President Truman on the various problems raised by the Congressional delegation. He also promised to make a thorough study of all questions put to him. Majority Leader John McCormaok was a member of the Congressional group.
Rep. Anthony Tauriello, of New York, who acted as chairman of the Congressional group, said that the Secretary had emphasized that there is no cause for alarm over the rearmament of Egypt, Syria and other Arab countries. He added that the Secretary had attributed the sale of arms to the Arab states to Britain’s desire to preserve the balance of power in the Middle East, and not for purposes of aggression.
One Republican Congressman–Henry J. Lathan of New York–was in the group. The hour-long session was devoted to questions by the Congressmen and answers from Mr. Acheson on American policy toward Israel and the rest of the Middle East. The states represented by the Democratic Congressmen were Ohio, Missouri, New York, Wisconsin, Illinois, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts.
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