Congressional Record - Negotiations in the Middle Eas

Mansfield, Mike, 1903-2001

English

University of Montana

University of MontanaScholarWorks at University of MontanaMike Mansfield Speeches Mike Mansfield Papers8-3-1970Congressional Record - Negotiations in the MiddleEastMike Mansfield 1903-2001Let us know how access to this document benefits you.Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umt.edu/mansfield_speechesThis Speech is brought to you for free and open access by the Mike Mansfield Papers at ScholarWorks at University of Montana. It has been acceptedfor inclusion in Mike Mansfield Speeches by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks at University of Montana. For more information, pleasecontact scholarworks@mso.umt.edu.Recommended CitationMansfield, Mike 1903-2001, "Congressional Record - Negotiations in the Middle East" (1970). Mike Mansfield Speeches. 892.https://scholarworks.umt.edu/mansfield_speeches/892812594 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-SENATE August 3, 1970 NEGOTIATIONS IN THE MIDDLE EAST Mr. MANSFIELD. Mr. Pr~ldent, I em encouraged thnt at long In,t, more than 3 years after the end or the 6-Day War In 1967, that Isrnel. on the one hand, tbe U.A.R., Jordon and, I under-stand, Kuwait and Lebanon, also, have agreed to consider the pos.'llblllty or ne-gotiations based on the 1967 United Na-tions Security Council resolution. I am sorry that Iraq, Syria, a.nd Alaerla have refused to alvc tbelr assent to this ef-fort. In my opinion. the fact that there 1s agreement, If only In part as fo.r as all of the countries Involved generally are concerned, Is a good stnrt toward an openlna or negotiations which may fur-nish an opportunity to achieve a settle-ment In this tinderbox area or the world. Certainly, It Is tar better than a con-tinuation of the con!rontaUon which has taken and Is still taking place a.nd, most certainly, It Is a step away from a confrontation whJch might well Involve the two so-called superpowers of the world-the U.s.S.R. and the United states Too much cred.t cannot be given to Secretary of State Wllllam Rogers for his patience, his tenacity, and his quiet de-termination that somethJna must, should and would be done to try to dampen the names In the Middle East. Credit should also be given to the Sovtet Union be-cause, while I have no definite Informa-tion at. my disposal, I assume that Presi-dent Nasser's 19-day stay In Moscow had much to do In the way or Egypt's ac-quiescence to the Roger's prOpos'll. By the same token. much credit should go to Mrs. Golda Melr, the Prime Minister of Israel, for her final acceptance of the proposal. I am sure It was not easy !or either President Nnsscr nor Prime Min-Ister Melr to assent to the Roaer•s pro-posal, I feel that they were both under a tremendous amoun~ of preuure; but to their credit, In the cauae or a possible settlement and a possible peace, they have both atven t.hetr ooc..ent. There Is a good deal of emotion mixed up 1n the question of the Middle Eaat which must be taken Into conslderation jiUld recognized and. because of that ;factor, it Ia all the more reasonable that ;we accept tho acceptances which have ;already been given. Let no one be under any illusion about tile dlfllculties v.·hich rwill oonlront all pnrUes d.lrecUy nnd ln-ld.irecUy concerned once negotiations ,get undeN-ay but, at least. a breathing ISpace may have been e.chleved and, hope-Jfully, the 90-day ceaae t\re contained in tthe Roger's proposal will be extended ln-rde.finf tely. It is my un~erstanding that a meeting of tile Blg Four-the United State!!. Soviet Union, Britain, and France-will convene on Wednesday under the aus-pices or the countries· respective U.N. ambassadors and n.t that Ume will dis-cuss the posstbllillcs for progress and peace In the Middle East with Ambas-sador Gunnar Jarring. To Ambassador Jarring, also. goes much credit !or his willingness to undertake renewed efforts to achieve a settlement In that part o! the world. Let us hope and pray that what wlll get underv.'1ly shortly under the most d.iflicult circumstances wUl meet with progress and results in the weeks and months ahead. Men of rea.son on botb sides will be, I am sure, aware of the possible cataclysmic results which will follow if a settlement ls not achieved. To all of the)'D. I wish good luck and God-speed. Mr. SCOTT. Mr. President. will the dlslin1.'11ished Senator from New Hamp-shire yield me 3 minutes? Mr. MciNTYRE. I yield 3 minutes to the distinguished minority leader. Mr. SCOTT. Mr. President, I am very pleased that the distinguished maJority leader has said what he dld. I am In full accord with whnt he sold. I must admit that when the two great power talks be-gan, and then when the four great powers became Involved, I was quite skeptical u to whether they would lead to any solution. It Is cause tor n very considerable, yet guarded, optimism Ulat the tlrst essenLial step has been taken and a breakthrough bas been had. There is now more thnn a glimmer or hope for peace in the Middle East. nn area which controls the fate and t.he destiny of thn-e continents. th"' cro:-,s-roads or the world, the vttalllfeline that it is for the meaus of energy and defense of so many nations. It is much to the credit, as the dis-tinguished maJority lender has said, or our really great Secretary of state, Willlam Rogers, that he has so patient-ly and diligently pursued tilese eaort.s. It is to Lhe credit of the p-eat Russian colossus that It hu st.own a respon-Slbility and equal d~lre for peace. One great solid fa.ct emerges !rom the decision !or a 90-day ceaseftre. That Is that the contending parties bave 1ndi-cated bJ their action that they prefer pea.;e to conUnued contlict. ThJs 1s the beg:tnn.lng of aomethlnr that might bring about a massive col-leeUve sigh of relief on the part of all the peoples or the world. Pr~e Mtnlster Golt.!a Me!r bas shown st.at.csmanshlp on the part ot Israel. The Arab Nations have lndleated that lt Is clearly l..n their best interests not to continue to exacerbate a bad situation. The action ot President Nixon has clearlY establ.lshed him as a man who lo\(~S J)('ACe a.nd seeks it, as Indeed l..s the mark of all Presidents generally, They would certainly prefer peace to war. Wlnat.on Churchill said: J 11w, j(lW ~ better than war, wu. And that sets the tone for what we all hope wlll be going on. I would Ukc to see the 90-day ceasefire exLcnded indeilnitely until the swordJI are beaten into plowshares. There ts much need for food. There ts much need for improvement or human con-ditions In all of those countries. There Is much need !or peace In the world. And as t.hc President winds down the war In Vietnam. as he concludes the agreement wttb Spain tor the continuance or cer· taln Spanllib bases, as be negotiates with Russia In the sALT talks-which are troillg very well so far-as all these thlnga are done, the eaU for peace increase.~ a.nd may come to full bloom In the~e troubled sections. Illt dOes. no one would be more happy than I to see the Swedish Government and tlle swedish officials proceed to call together the chief officials of the United States and So\iet Union In order to do what. Theodore Roosevelt did with Rus-sin nnd Japan. He followed after the ways that led to peace, as the Btble says. It so, they w1U well deserve the Nobel peace award from a grateful world. We hope that Utis will happen. At any rate. we are obviously advancing toward better days. Mr. MANSFIELD. Mr. President. will the Scnntor yield? Mr. SCOTT. I yield. Mr. MANSFIELD. Mr. President, I au• of the opinion that the remat·ks ma ' by tho President of the United State.' his press conference last Thursd'\y n 1\lso add so1.1e influence In bringh about a meeting of the minds on I nc~rotlatlng basts covering that pnrt · lar area of the world. Mr. SCOTI' Mr President, I th· !; the disUnaull;hcd majority leader. I .,:l agree that when the President indica <. he was pledgmg the United s tn tes l J-ward the secunty of the State or IsrnL·l and. to a recogni[ion that the dl'fcn~c ot Israel was C!.sential to the defense of tho United States, he also strencthcnccl the hands or the negotiators. We would all say to Ambassador Jar-~. "Oo with pea.ce and bring r.cacc back from these negotiations so that the world mar see Its fears subside and may again return to a state and condition where less fear dominates tile m inds o! the world's peoples.'' I agalu thank the dlst.inguished sen-ator from New Hampshire !or yielding. Mike Mansfield Papers, Series 21, Box 46 , Folder 46, Mansfield Library, University of Montana.

Congressional Record - Negotiations in the Middle East

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Congressional Record - Negotiations in the Middle East

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