Secretary of Defense Robert McNamarra, addressing the House Armed Services Committee, emphasized the interest of the United States “to keep the Arab-Israel feud from escalating into overt hostilities” and explained why the U.S. sold Hawk anti-aircraft missiles to Israel.
His testimony before the Committee, given in connection with the defense budget for the year, was made public today by the Congressional body. “Although we do not share with other Near East countries membership in any formal military organizations, our interest in supporting peace and stability in the area has been well established and, we believe, is clearly understood by the countries involved,” the Secretary of Defense. said.
Noting that Iraq and Syria are still rent by power struggles, Secretary McNamarra remarked that “the only ostensible objective which all of these Arab nations appear to share in common is the destruction of Israel. And here, Israel’s plan to divert the waters of the Jordan River presents a current problem,” he told the Committee.
“The U.S. objective has long been to keep the Arab-Israeli feud from escalating into overt hostilities,” he continued. “Realization of this objective has been made more difficult by the injection of substantial Soviet bloc aid–both economic and military–into the region, and particularly into Egypt, Syria, Iraq and Yemen. For this reason, the U.S. has, on a very selective basis, provided some assistance in the form of sales of military material to Israel and the smaller Arab states, including Saudi Arabia and Jordan. And it is in this context that the U.S. sold Hawk anti-aircraft missiles to Israel, to help provide an effective defense against modern fighters and bomber aircraft, “the Secretary of Defense stated.
Mr. McNamarra noted, in concluding his remarks on the Middle East, that the U.S.A. has engaged in military exercises with some of the friendly countries of the area, such as Iran and Saudi Arabia, “in order to demonstrate our capability and determination to lend support, when and if required.”
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