The U. S. - Israel-Iran Triangle

...Nevertheless, Israel remains convinced that the long-term geopolitical interests of each of the three lie with Israel rather than with the Arabs...

...Imperial Ethiopia, besides being historically hostile toward the Moslems, highly prized its Biblical ties with Israel, going back to King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba...

...In short, this view maintains that an Iranian victory would be the lesser evil for Israel, and therefore Israel has pragmatic reasons for helping to bring about Iraq's defeat...

...Indeed, it can be argued that negotiating with Iran to obtain something from the terrorists underscores the ability of a band of bloodthirsty fanatics to shape relations between a superpower and a formidable regional power...

...sumed masters of the terrorists...

...The philosophy evolved, in part, from its national interest in forestalling talks with what it regards as the number one terrorist organization, the PLO...

...To date, no really satisfactory response to these situations has been found...

...Consequently, few Israelis doubt that after Khomeini—or Khomeinism—Iran will resume its friendly ties with Israel...

...Yet whether it is less harmful to deal with terrorist states than with terrorist organizations is a moot point...

...This brings us to the special Israeli aspect of the whole mess...

...It is said to be held at present by Prime Minister Yitzchak Shamir, Foreign Minister Shimon Peres and Defense Minister Yitzchak Rabin...

...The root of the argument extends back to the late 40s, when David BenGurion developed the "outer circle relations" concept: Surrounded by an inner circle of hostile Arab countries who refused to even recognize that it existed, Israel sought to jump over the frontline ring by setting up close ties with Turkey, Iran and Ethiopia...

...On the practical side, he notes that Baghdad enjoys the approval of the more moderate Arab nations, including Jordan and Egypt, whereas Iran is backed by Libya and Syria, Israel's most virulent enemies and participants in the most violent forms of international terror...

...An inconclusive ending would be best for Israel, because it would oblige the combatants to keep their forces ready for a possible new enemy attack...

...Hardly anybody, even in government, doubts that had there been public debate on the matter, the balance would have tilted against the deal and the government would have been protected from the incessant pressure of the captive soldiers' families...

...in general and President Reagan in particular...

...Jerusalem made its decision when it released over 1,000jailed terrorists in exchange for a handful of Israeli soldiers captured by terrorists...

...negotiate to gain time while seeking ways to employ force...

...The debate on this issue has been going on in the Israeli press and among Middle East experts here ever since the Iraq-Iran War started more than six years ago...

...Above and beyond these considerations is perhaps the strongest argument against Israel—and the U.S.—aiding Teheran: The aim may be a link to post-Khomeini Iran, yet the arms go to the Khomeini regime and could help bring about a victory that would unleash a tidal wave of Moslem fanaticism and wreak havoc in the entire Middle East...

...Its actual policy for a long time went something Uke the following: Don't negotiate when you can use force to liberate hostages at a reasonable cost...

...The prevailing Israeli opinion is that Iraq's clearly coming out on top would be the more immediate problem: Iraq now has close to a million battle-tested troops and is the only Arab country with large-scale, modern logistics and command experience...

...the transactions were also seen as corresponding with Israel's own security interests...

...Israel has, however, always madeex-ceptions to the principle...

...True, Israel couldn't claim that it was not negotiating with terrorists, or that there was a valid political quid pro quo behind establishing contact with the preEliahu Salpeter...

...the second involves Israel-American bilateral relations...

...And no negotiations with Yasir Arafat when hijackings occur or hostages are taken is meant to imply as well no talks with him on political matters, such as the future of the West Bank...

...a regular NL contributor is a correspondent for Ha aretz one of Israel's leading newspapers...

...It broke into the open shortly after a London court proved Damascus' direct involvement in an attempt to blow up an El-Al airliner leaving Heathrow Airport for Lydda Airport, and after Britain took admirably strong diplomatic measures against Syria...

...Another voice opposing support for Iran belongs to Arie Naor, Cabinet secretary under Prime Minister Menachem Begin and a leader of the "young generation" of the old Revisionist Party...

...the third has to do with evaluating the impact of the Iran-Iraq War on the future of the Middle East...

...Arab oil money and a weakening of secularism in Turkey, the Ayatollah Ru-hollah Khomeini's revolution in Iran, andthefallof Haile Selassie to the Communists in Ethiopia has, to varying degrees, undermined the "outer circle" strategy...

...All experts agree that while the war between Iran and Iraq continues, Israel can sleep quietly...

...Second, the mistake probably would have been avoided if the negotiations had not been shrouded in total secrecy...

...Naor stresses that the Khomeini government is essentially more bloodthirsty and immoral than Saddam Hussein's military dictatorship in Baghdad...

...Such a move would seriously alter the balance of forces on Israel's Northern border and put a very heavy strain on Israel's defenses and economy...

...But some prominent Israelis, again both for pragmatic considerations and for reasons of principle, have different positions...

...Although at least some Iranian officials do admit the existence of contacts and deals with the U.S., virtually all not only deny Israel's role but cite Washington's backing of Jerusalem as one of themajor sins of the "American Satan...

...Turkey, though Moslem, was at that time much closer to Kemal Atatiirk's secular legacy...

...A TRIPLE DILEMMA The U.S.-Israel-Iran Triangle BY ELIAHU SALTPETER Tel Aviv The secret American-Israel-Iran triangle that has developed in the past 18 months has presented Jerusalem with three dilemmas...

...That seemed a sensible approach until about two years ago, when there was no way to escape the same fundamental question the White House must have faced in the past year or so: Once pragmatism replaces principle, how does one set the price of a captive, the limit of the ransom...

...In one way or another, the entire Arab world is preoccupied with the struggle...

...Iran, also Moslem, was almost openly contemptuous and historically hostile toward the Arabs...

...But in part, of course, the no-negotiations principle also stems from a genuine conviction that dealing with kidnappers encourages further acts of terror...

...negotiate in earnest if no alternative is available...

...Further, it demonstrates that the democratic world still has not agreed upon a tactic, much less a strategy, for coping with political terror...

...Then it turned out that they both had secretly been dealing with another ultimately far more important terrorist state...

...For years, Israel has opposed—and has urged all other countries to eschew— negotiating with terrorists...

...The rational solution has long been recognized: firm refusal to accept the terrorists' dictates, and firm solidarity among the democracies in that refusal...

...Conversely, a decisive victory by either side could spell trouble...

...To counter that democracies have a built-in disadvantage in confronting any form of totalitarianism or violence does not excuse much...

...Accordingly, the danger for the Jewish State will begin when the war ends...

...and Israel vociferously criticized Britain' s European Economic Community partners for refusing to take a similarly strong stand against a terrorist state caught red-handed...

...In these circumstances, when it comes to choosing between Iraq and Iran, does it make sense for Israel to bet on the Iranians...

...Although Syria, which is supporting Iran, would not be happy to have Iraqi troops on its soil, it could hardly refuse an offer from Baghdad to send part of its victorious units against "the common Zionist enemy...

...The press here has already admitted its share in the error by having voluntarily cooperated with a government request not to print a word while the wildly uneven swap was being arranged...

...Thus, cooperating with the White House in Iran was not merely a case of fulfilling an obli-gationfelt toward theU.S...

...In this respect the disclosure of the Washington-Jerusalem-Teheran triangle came at a particularly embarrassing moment...

...The question is, how long is "long term," and what should be done until then...

...Minister Ezer Weizman, for example, reportedly believes that the Arabs are in the process of accepting the reality of Israel, that Iraq too will some day moderate its stand, and that Jerusalem should not upset this process by lining itself up against the Arab world...

...Most Arab countries, moreover, consider Khomeini's Iran a bigger threat than Israel...

...Since then Israel has reached (though not publicly admitted) two conclusions: First, it was a bad mistake to pay such an exorbitant price...

...The first concerns the handling of international terrorism...

...These considerations seem equally valid as far as the price payable by Washington to Teheran is concerned...