King Hussein of Jordan yesterday sharply attacked the United States for its allegedly pro-Israel policy and warned that the U.S. would have to bear a large share of the responsibility should a new war break out in the Middle East “and no one in this area would ever forgive her.” But the Jordanian ruler’s statement, included in a directive to his Prime Minister Bahjat al-Talhouni and read on Amman radio by Information Minister Salah Abu Zaid, disclosed that Jordan had concluded a $100 million arms deal with the U.S. King Hussein said that Jordan would soon receive U.S. ground-to-air Hawk missiles which would be used to protect Jordanian air bases. He proposed an early warning air raid system and shelters for the protection of civilians. King Hussein also said that Jordan will soon have replaced all of the armor it lost in the June, 1967 war with Israel but warned that this would not give Jordan military superiority over Israel.
King Hussein’s warning to the U.S. came amid mounting Arab resentment of recent statements by both major American Presidential candidates, Richard M. Nixon and Hubert H. Humphrey. Both stressed the U.S. commitment to Israel and Mr. Nixon, in particular, advocated supplying Israel with the means to maintain a substantial military technological superiority over its Arab neighbors.
In the political sphere, Jordan’s Foreign Minister Abdel Monim Rifai, flatly rejected the possibility of a bilateral agreement between his country and Israel even if Israel were to abide by the letter of the UN Security Council’s Nov. 22, 1967 resolution, as interpreted by the Arabs. Jordan’s stand was outlined by Mr. Rifai in an interview with Peter Jenkins, published in the Guardian yesterday. Mr. Rifai said that Israel’s nature to commit itself to implementing the resolution which, the Arabs insist, required unconditional Israeli withdrawal from all occupied territories, has blocked any progress toward a Middle East solution. He said that Jordan’s acceptance of the resolution “does imply that we shall be ready to make formal commitments in the Security Council, witnessed and guaranteed by the Council.” But, he added, he did not see why it would be necessary for such a commitment to be signed jointly by both parties. “There is no such requirement in the resolution,” he said. The Foreign Minister said that the United Nations peace envoy, Ambassador Gunnar V. Jarring, had tried, without success, to find out where Israel stood on withdrawal and what its concept of secure boundaries was. He said he had been expecting to receive clarification on those points but Dr. Jarring’s latest visit to Amman brought none.
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.
