Former Communications Minister Aharon Yariv who returned last night from a six-week visit to the United States, said that Israel stood a good chance of receiving all or most of the military aid it has requested from the U.S. this year but warned that it could not expect the same level of assistance to be forthcoming next year.
Yariv, a former chief of military intelligence who hold the rank of general before he retired from the army last year, went to Washington last month on behalf of Premier Yitzhak Rabin. His mission was to explain Israel’s defense needs to U.S. Congressmen in both houses and especially members of key Congressional committees.
Yariv said he spent more time in Washington than he had originally intended because he had to see almost every Senator and many members of the House in order to explain fully Israel’s security needs. “I tried to convince the Senators and Representatives that the balance of power in the Middle East is such that the arms aid to Israel must be approved in its fullest form. Yariv said.
He added that he could not say the aid would be approved because of his efforts, but that they did no harm. He said there was a good chance that Israel’s requests would be approved without any serious outs. But he cautioned that Israel would not be able to make so large an arms request next year.
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