Voa Broadcast Raises Possibility of Another War in Middle East

The Voice of America, in a world-wide broadcast on the tenth anniversary of the Six-Day War, said that “The question that haunts the Middle East today is- will there be another war–and when will it come?” The broadcast said that President Carter “obviously realizes that time is not on the side of peace and that, if another Middle East war is to be avoided, the hard decisions that need to be made must be made without much more delay.”

The English-language version of the broadcast, a copy of which was obtained by the Jewish Telegraphic Agency did not indicate who might start a new war in the Middle East nor did it refer to Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338 which call for negotiations between Israel and the Arab states and on which the U.S. government says it bases its Middle East policy. The VOA, an arm of the U.S. Information Agency (USIA) receives its policy from the State Department and its broadcasts are cleared by State Department officials directly concerned with the issues discussed.

The tenth anniversary broadcast said the Six-Day War “did nothing to settle” the Middle East dispute and “in fact there are those who maintain that it made the conflict worse.” It said that “prospects for a settlement are better than they have been at any time in the past decade.” It noted “tentative moves” including “partial Israeli withdrawal from the occupied territories,” the reopening of the Suez Canal and “signs of moderation in influential Arab capitals–and above all, a growth of the sober realization that first, a settlement cannot be delayed indefinitely; second, there must be concessions by both sides; and third, that no one can profit by another round of fighting.”

SITUATION ‘WORRISOME’

The VOA said, however, that “In other respects, the situation is worrisome…Certainly there is deep concern about the results of the recent Israeli election, which brought into power a political party opposed, at least on the record, to territorial concessions. And as the months slip away, those who believe 1977 must be the year of decision–the year of a settlement–are pointing out nothing has yet been agreed on about how to resolve the impediment to the Geneva Middle East conference, such as the problem of Palestinian representation.”

The broadcast said “The need for negotiating movement grows more urgent by the day and for this reason, President Carter’s recent statements on some of the more sensitive issues involved have not gone unwelcome; issues such as the magnitude of the Israeli withdrawal, a homeland for the Palestinians and possible compensation.” The broadcast did not mention “concessions” to be made by the Arabs.