Newspaper Page Text
THE SOUTHERN ISRAELITE
Pag* Two
Friday. Dec. 6, 1968
CAPITOL SPOTLIGHT
by Milton Friedman
Israel’s Stake in Vietnam
Copyright 1MI, JTA
WASHINGTON—
Israel was not a party to the
Vietnam war but the Jewish
State may emerge as one of the
losers.
When Communist-inspired Arab
guerrillas initiated Viet Cong
terrorist tactics against Israel, it
was assumed in some quarters
that since America made such a
fetish of South Vietnamese
security, Israel — in a similar
fix — could expect U. S. help.
Some thought the chances for
American support of Israel were
enhanced by the commitment to
Saigon. But it now appears that
the opposite may be the case.
American policy-makers, Re
publican and Democratic, are
now determined to end the war
in Vietnam — and to avoid any
Middle Eastern involvement even
remotely similar to the one in
Asia. Tacit commitments, cam
paign pledges, and Soviet pene
tration of the Mid-east not with
standing, the Johnson and Nixon
Administrations appear agreed
on this policy.
The outgoing Administration
would like to achieve a Vietnam
peace agreement in Pari3 before
leaving office. President-elect
Nixon has the pursuit of “peace
with honor” on the agenda as
the first order of business.
Neither Administration is dis
posed to throw down the gauntlet
to the Russians and Arabs in de
fense of Israel.
The American public is
troubled by domestic problems.
People are bored and vexed by
the endless war in Vietnam.
Some are angry over the dubious
premises on which the war in
volvement is based. Others are
furious because of the failure to
win.
U.S. diplomats, the career men
who will continue in the new
Administration, have sought tena
ciously to justify the mess in
Vietnam. But they are now
spreading the word that a simi
lar situation must be avoided in
the Middle East. They foresee an
illusory prospect of “getting rid
of the Saigon regime and having
our fate controlled by the arro
gant Israelis.”
American policymakers — de
fense experts as well as diplo
mats — were in no hurry to ap
prove the sale of the much-dis
cussed 50 Phantom jets to Israel.
They did not deny that Israel
needed the supersonic planes to
balance the Russian build-up of
the Arabs. They wanted to
avoid a long-range commitment
to Israel’s developing needs for
sophisticated weapons.
Policy-planners are struggling
to avoid a situation in which
Israel may become the proxy of
the U.S. They fear that Wash
ington might not be able to exert
full control. At some point
Israel may feel that her vital
interests do not coincide with ad
vice from Washington and act
accordingly.
President-elect Nixon is clearly
committed to supplying Israel
with arms necessary to tip the
military balance in Israel’s favor.
It appears likely that the new
Administration will deliver the
Phantom jets and reassert the
same sort of vague and limited
commitments to Israel as those
voiced by President Johnson and
Vice-President Humphrey. Mean
while, efforts will be made to
cool down the situation, avoid a
confrontation with Russia, pursue
v rab friendship, and play both
is of the Suez.
The development of new weap
ons has been slowed. Every new
projectXhas been studied almost
to death^by the computer analy
sis, system^ analysis, and cost ef
fectiveness ^studies. As Washing
ton sought \ guns and butter,
fighting in ' Vietnam without
mobilization on a business-as-
usual basis, Russia moved boldly
ahead.
There is evidence of important
advances in almost every aspect
of Soviet military strength.
American power, on the other
hand, has been watered down.
When Congress cut the budget
by $6 billion, President Johnson
insisted on slashing $3 billion
from defense needs. Consequently
the armed forces are actually de
commissioning active units and
demobilizing reservists in the
middle of a war. Cuts have
forced postponement of weapons
projects already long deferred.
America remains possessed of
the greatest industrial base and
technological prowess in the
world. But research must be ex
pedited, stock-piles refilled, and
units fully manned. Until this
is done there will be inadequate
substance to lend credence to
U.S. diplomacy.
Moscow has sensed the impact
of Vietnam on the U.S. position.
It is pressing in the Middle East,
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Violation of First Amendment—
American Jewish Congress
Protests Christmas Stamp
NEW YORK, (WUP) — The
American Jewish Congress voiced
its protest this week against the
issuance by the U.S. Post Office
of the 1968 Christmas stamp
which it claimed violated the
church-state separation guaran
tee of the First Amendment.
In a letter to Postmaster —
General M. Marvin Watson, the
AJCongress stated that the an
nual Christmas stamps — first
introduced in 1962 — were in
creasingly becoming religious in
content, changing over the years
from “relatively innocuous” de
signs like holly wreaths to re
productions of paintings celebra
ting "the dogma of the Virgin
birth.”
The 1968 stamp depicts a por
tion of “The Annunciation” —
showing the Angel Gabriel tell
ing Mary she has been chosen to
bear the Christ child.
The Congress protest called on
the Department to reconsider its
policy on Christmas stamps. By
issuing stamps with religious
motifs, the Congress declared,
“the Government sets a prece
dent for using its power and pres
tige to support the celebra
tion of a religious holiday. This
amounts to government support
of specific religious ideas even
when those ideas are antithetical
to the religious beliefs of others.”
The AJC letter was signed by
Joseph B. Robinson, director of
the Congress Commission on
Law and Social Action.
a comer of the world where
American resolve is confused. A
strategic moment in history has
been seized. The Kremlin has
the initiative. Can the new Pres
ident regain it?
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