Behind scenes at peace talks, the real talk is about U.S. money
Special to World Tribune.com
MIDDLE EAST NEWSLINE
Wednesday, January 5, 2000
JERUSALEM [MENL] -- Israel and the United States held another round of
negotiations regarding the amount of U.S. military aid required for an
Israeli withdrawal from the Golan Heights.
Israeli diplomatic sources said the latest meeting was last week between
members of the Israeli Embassy in Washington and senior State Department
officials. They said the Israelis raised the need for a massive aid package
that would be implemented after the signing a peace treaty with Syria.
The aid would include advanced U.S. weapons as well as at least $18
billion in military and civilian funding for both development of indigenous
weapons systems and the cost of resettling 18,000 Israeli residents of the
Golan Heights.
On Tuesday, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that Israel has asked
the United States for the Tomahawk cruise missile, with a range of up to
2,000 kilometers. So far, only Britain has received the missile, which was
used in U.S. attacks against Afghanistan, Sudan and Yugoslavia.
Haaretz said the Israeli military aid request includes two squadrons of
Apache attack helicopters, a squadron of Black Hawk helicopters, a squadron
of Hercules cargo jets, three early-warning aircraft, refueling planes, a
ground station to receive satellite intelligence in real time and the
completion of missile defense project including the Nautilus laser system.
The sources said the amount of aid raised by the Israelis exceeded that
of $20 billion. They said the U.S. officials again raised the prospect of
severe objections by Congress.
Prime Minister Ehud Barak, the sources said, has already raised the
issue with President Bill Clinton. During his current visit to the United
States, Barak has been accompanied by senior Finance Ministry officials to
discuss aid.
The Israelis and U.S. officials, the sources said, discussed how to
convince Congress and the American people to approve such a package. The
Israeli Embassy has already launched plans to persuade American Jewish
leaders to support and lobby Congress for the U.S. aid.
The embassy plans to highlight the U.S. interest in Israeli-Syrian
peace. This would include the need for Middle East stability to ensure the
flow of cheap oil, the need to counter threats from Iran and Iraq and
cooperation against terrorism in the region.
Both Republican and Democratic members of Congress have begun to express
skepticism regarding the size of the Israeli aid request.