EDITORIAL
ticularly advanced and would not enable Egypt to challenge Israel's superiority in the air. Since Egypt broke with the Soviet Union it has been unable to get arms there, and it can be argued...
...Saudi oil reserves are vital to the U.S...
...Further, Egypt would probably be able to buy comparable planes in Western Europe if we refused to provide them...
...The same imbalance exists throughout much of the Mid East...
...and Western Europe, and Saudi officials have used their powerful influence in OPEC to keep the supply of oil up and the price from rising even more rapidly, at considerable disadvantage to their own interests...
...The planes involved are very advanced and could conceivably constitute a threat to Israel...
...However, Washington officials argue that the move is necessary for a variety of reasons...
...At the same time Saudi Arabia fears attack by radical states, particularly Iraq, which looks to the Soviet Union for inspiration and is being armed by the USSR...
...And lastly, the sale is said to be in line with the U.S...
...What can war planes do to ease this situation...
...The sale to Saudi Arabia is touchier...
...Saudi Arabia is crucial for the cause of Arab moderation and stability in the region...
...Since Egypt broke with the Soviet Union it has been unable to get arms there, and it can be argued that it is good for Egypt now to turn to us...
...Further, the first Eagles cannot be provided for a considerable time and would not be operational in Saudi Arabia until 1982, which leaves room for a change in U.S...
...Saudi Arabia may have its oil wealth, but Israel is staggering under its military budget and Egypt is in desperate straits...
...All in all, then, a case can be made for the proposed arms package for the Mid East, and we would therefore support it, but grudgingly and with considerable reluctance...
...policy of encouraging moderate Arab regimes such as that of Mr...
...So we would support the administration proposal but without enthusiasm, and only in the hope that it will provide a breathing space in which real work for a lasting peace in the iarea can be pursued...
...Within 30 years, for example, Egypt will double its population which is already growing at a rate that devours any gains in agricultural production, and this in a country where only 25 percent of the people can read and write...
...Sadat...
...Israel worries that Saudi Arabia might in a crisis transfer the proposed F-15's to other Arab states for use against Israel, but it is said that this would be impossible without a lengthy period of pilot training on what is reported to be a very sophisticated weapon...
...plans if signals indicate reversal is called for...
...Whatever arguments can be made for this specific proposal at this particular lime, the basic fact remains that salvation does not lie down the arms race road, and this is strikingly true in the Mid East...
Vol. 105 • March 1978 • No. 6
