The United States policy of giving arms to Iraq while refusing them to Israel is “morally wrong” and inconsistent with United States interests in the Middle East, Sen. George H. Bender, Ohio Republican, said on the Senate floor. He asserted that this policy was advantageous to Soviet interests in the region.
He called for a policy of protecting Israel as being the road to peace, and criticized Secretary of State Dulles for recognizing Israel’s need for military equipment but preferring to have other Western states fill those needs. “This is not leadership,” Sen. Bender insisted.
He urged the Administration to sell arms to Israel and to act so that the preservation of Israel becomes a basic element of U. S. Middle East policy. When the “Arab world realizes that we mean business, we may look for some kind of peaceful settlement,” he said. The Senator applauded Premier David Ben Gurion’s pledge to refrain from launching a preventive war. He added that he hoped Israel will not apply to Russia for military aid.
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