Your recent editorial in favor of the proposal by the Reagan
administration to sell more arms to Saudi Arabia reflects an alarming naivete, and a very short memory.
Saudi Arabia is no friend of the United States, and has never in any demonstrable manner assisted the United States in its efforts to achieve peace in the Middle East, or promote American policies at international forums. In fact, it has voted with the United States at the UN less than 15 percent of the time, and its support for U.S. policies has been declining in recent years (some reward for the $50 billion in U.S. military hardware sold to the Saudi regime since 1973).
In 1981, President Reagan persuaded the Senate to sell AWACS to Saudi Arabia on the explicit assurance that the Saudis would provide substantial assistance to the U.S. in promoting Middle East peace. Since then, King Fahd has sabotaged every U.S. peace initiative in the region, and the day after the sale raised the price of oil. Most recently, Saudi Arabia refused and rejected every request for assistance of U.S. efforts in maintaining open sea lines for the shipment of Middle East oil.
When will The Tribune and the administration learn that the Saudis require these arms not for any intended use in their defense, but only as a way to inflate their egos as against rival Arab governments and leaders, or for some day to use or allow their use in a war against Israel?
