Kennedy, Attacking Carter’s Foreign Policy, Says Mideast Must Strengthened Against PLO Subversion an

Sen. Edward Kennedy (D. Mass) characterized the Palestine Liberation Organization today as a “Soviet surrogate” and called for strengthening Middle East countries against “subversion” by the terrorist organization. He also characterized Israel as America’s “most stable and dependable ally in the Middle East.”

In an address at Georgetown University, Kennedy, a candidate for the Democratic Presidential nomination launched a full dress attack on aspects of President Carter’s foreign policy, particularly in the Middle East. “Nations in the area must be strengthened against subversion from the PLO and other Soviet surrogates, ” he said. He warned, however, that “We must not overreact to the present crisis in a ways that undermine the security of Israel.”

Discussing the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and the situation in Iran, Kennedy said “That democracy (Israel) is our most stable and dependable ally in the Middle East. We must not barter the freedom and future of Israel for a barrel of oil or in a foolish effort to align the Moslem world with the U.S. whatever the cost. Indeed, Egypt and Israel together already constitute a bulwark against Soviet expansionism and the cornerstone of the wider alliance we must seek,” Kennedy said.

GOES FURTHER THAN OTHER CANDIDATES

In making these statements, Kennedy went further than any other candidate, Democrat or Republican, in condemning the PLO and in asserting that Egypt and Israel are “the cornerstones” of the U.S. position in the Middle East.

President Carter, in his State of the Union address last week, called the Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty “a strategic asset for America” but did not refer to the PLO. Kennedy, who was scheduled to address the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organization in New York later today, appeared to have staked out a position that would put the Carter Administration on the defensive with respect to the Soviet Union and the PLO. When the public Broadcasting Service television film “The Russian Connection” reflected Soviet support in the training of PLO terrorists, the State Department’s response was that it had no evidence that the Soviet government “directly” supported PLO terrorism.

Kennedy also observed that “The Soviet Union now finds itself estranged from the Third World and said that the “reaction” to Soviet aggression “runs deep in the Moslem world where Arab nationalism and Moslem religious feeling can become a powerful force against Soviet ambitions.” This issue is under discussion at the Moslem foreign ministers conference at Islamabad, Pakistan. Syria and the PLO are not attending.

Kennedy’s condemnation of the PLO came as Soviet Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko was meeting in Damascus with PLO chief Yasir Arafat and Syrian President Hafez Assad. It has long been observed that some Middle East nations, notably Kuwait, Jordan and Saudi Arabia, have large numbers of Palestinians working in key positions and are influenced by them in certain matters, such as rejection of the Camp David accords.