President Eisenhower said at his press conference today that $16,000,000 worth of U.S. munitions for Saudi Arabia were approved last August and indicated that past and future shipments came under this deal.
Shipments to Saudi Arabia have included bombing planes, tanks, and other heavy munitions. The President said the arms were furnished for “internal security” purposes. He pointed out that Saudi Arabia has “no common border” with Israel and stated that the Administration was trying to prevent” an arms race with Israel.” He said Saudi Arabia was a “vast” country, indicating that was the reason it needed a quantity of U.S. arms.
Mr. Eisenhower told the press that while the Administration thinks Egyptian Premier Nasser’s recognition of Red China was “mistaken” such a single act on the part of Egypt does not destroy American friendship. He likened Egypt and America to a family and a single difference to a transient family “spat.” He said American attitudes should not be based on any one act by Egypt.
(In Israel, U.S. Ambassador Edward B. Lawson said today upon his return from the United States that there has been no change in the attitude of the State Department with regard to supplying arms to Israel. He stated that his visit to Washington was “encouraging” and that during his discussions with President Eisenhower and Secretary of State John Foster Dulles he established that the situation in Israel and in the Middle East is entirely clear to the leaders of the United States Government.)
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.
