Sale of Arms to the Saudis
Your editorial recommending the sale of arms to Saudi Arabia is as shallow as you are shortsighted.
Just what can we expect from such a sale? We have made similar sales in 1978 and in 1981 (AWACS) without gaining any real object such as peace in that region.
The Saudis have never supported Camp David but actually opposed it. Nor did they help us support the Israel-Lebanon peace treaty, and they have consistently opposed every American effort to promote peace agreements between Israel and its neighbors.
In fact, their maps of that region do not even show Israel, as if by ignoring that nation’s existence on a map they can get rid of it.
We are told that the Saudis can get weapons from other countries. So what? Would those other countries such as Britain or France have the power to protect Saudi Arabia from Iran or possibly the Soviets? Only the United States can provide any protection and in this respect we can’t even get bases on their soil! Saudi Arabia has nowhere else to go if they don’t buy arms from us.
It’s time The Times woke up along with President Reagan to the realities of this situation.
NORTON BARKER
Woodland Hills
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