Maj. Gen. George Keegan, a retired former Chief of Intelligence for the United States Air Force and a renowned intelligence expert, has expressed “profound distress that my government is, in its pursuit of peace in the Middle East, guided by illusions and delusions.” Keegan, who was addressing a meeting here of the national executive committee of the Zionist Organization of America, chaired by Ivan J. Novick, told the group in his judgment the principal counter to Soviet “imperial” interests in the Middle East is Israel.
According to Keegan, who recently returned from a trip to the Middle East, “the goals of the Arab leadership are unchanged.” Basing himself on intelligence information which he said he had seen, Keegan said: “I am convinced beyond any reasonable doubt that the elimination of Israel looms in the mind of the Arab leadership. The only thing that has changed is their strategy.”
Continuing, Keegan observed: “I don’t think my government realizes that we double the risk of war when we weaken Israel, for no Israeli leader will ever again permit a surprise attack.”
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.
