Statement on Persian Gulf Crisis and Related Issues
Adopted by the NJCRAC Executive Committee
September 10, 1990
The National Jewish Community Relations Advisory Council strongly commends the
Administration for its extraordinary achievement in mobilizing a coordinated and
sustained international response, including the unified action of the United Nations, to
Iraq's recent unprovoked aggression against Kuwait. We endorse the objectives of U.S.
policy to obtain withdrawal of Iraqis forces from Kuwait, to protect foreign nationals,
especially American citizens, being held against their will by Iraqi authorities, to
maintain the free flow of oil in the Middle East and to deter Saddam Hussein from
aggression against Saudi Arabia and any other state in the region.
We share the concerns expressed by Administration officials and many members of
Congress, including during secretary of State James Baker's recent testimony before key
Congressional committees, in regard to the threat posed by Iraq's military capabilities,
particularly its chemical weapons and its developing nuclear and biological potential. We
support the Administration in its efforts to circumscribe Iraq's ability to utilize these
weapons of mass destruction.
While we understand the Administration's motivation behind the recent decision to
invoke emergency authority in order to sell Saudi Arabia over $2 billion of sophisticated
military equipment, we nevertheless are concerned about the impact this and other
possible future arms sales to Saudi Arabia and other Arab states will have on the balance
of power in the region. We urge the Administration to develop controls and commitments
associated with these arms transfers that will minimize the threats they may pose to
important U.S. interests, such as the security of Israel and the stability of the region as a
whole. We welcome the Administration's continuing commitment to preserve Israel's
qualitative military advantage, a policy embraced by a succession of Administrations, and
urge that the necessary steps be taken expeditiously to implement that commitment.
We note the Administration's intention to seek debt relief for Egypt which owes the U.S.
approximately $7 billion. We call upon the Administration and the Congress to provide
debt relief for Israel as well and to find other ways of assisting Israel in meeting the many
defense-related and economic challenges it faces. By supporting its Camp David partners
in this manner, the U.S. would be sending a powerful message of peace to the entire
region and signaling a continued commitment to the financial well-being and security of
these two important allies
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