REMARKS OF WILLIAM J. CASEY DIRECTOR OF CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AT THE AMERICAN ISRAEL PUBLIC AFFAIRS COMMITTEE POLICY CONFERENCE SUNDAY, 6 APRIL 1986

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CIA-RDP88G01117R001004050004-7
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RIFPUB
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K
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12
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December 22, 2016
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June 30, 2011
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4
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Publication Date: 
April 6, 1986
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MISC
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Approved For Release 2011/06/30: CIA-RDP88G01117RO01004050004-7 REMARKS OF WILLIAM J. CASEY DIRECTOR OF CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AT THE AMERICAN ISRAEL PUBLIC AFFAIRS COMMITTEE POLICY CONFERENCE SUNDAY, 6 APRIL 1986 WASHINGTON HILTON HOTEL WASHINGTON, D. C. Approved For Release 2011/06/30: CIA-RDP88G01117RO01004050004-7 Approved For Release 2011/06/30: CIA-RDP88G01117RO01004050004-7 TODAY, I WOULD LIKE TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT THE MIDDLE EAST IN THE CONTEXT OF NEW DIMENSIONS IN THE STRATEGIC BALANCE BETWEEN THE SOVIET BLOC AND THE FREE DEMOCRACIES. IN THIS CONTEXT, I WANT TO LOOK AT PRESENT DANGERS AND HOW WE CAN MEET THEM IN THE MIDDLE EAST, THE ARENA OF OUR PARTICULAR CONCERN TONIGHT. I DO IT THIS WAY BECAUSE I BELIEVE THAT TODAY WE ARE WITNESSING PARTICULARLY INTENSIVE EFFORTS TO TILT THE OVERALL STRATEGIC BALANCE WORLDWIDE AGAINST THE WEST AND BECAUSE WE AMERICANS HAVE THUS FAR FAILED TO SEE THE. INTERRELATIONSHIP BETWEEN WHAT IS HAPPENING IN CENTRAL AMERICA AND THE MIDDLE EAST, IN THE MEDITERRANEAN AND THE PERSIAN GULF, IN THE SOUTH ATLANTIC AND THE SOUTH CHINA SEA. INCREASINGLY, OUR POLICIES IN THE MIDDLE EAST AND ELSEWHERE MUST BE GEARED TO AN EVER MORE AGGRESSIVE SOVIET INVOLVEMENT AND A GROWING DANGER FROM RADICA' AND VIOLENT GROUPS OPERATING THERE. WHILE WE CONFRONT THIS THREAT WE MUST PROTECT OUR OVERALL STRATEGIC POSTURE FROM SIMILAR AND COMPLEMENTARY PRESSURES ELSEWHERE. WE ALL KNOW ROUGHLY THE HISTORY OF THE STRATEGIC BALANCE AND HOW ESSENTIAL IT IS TO PROTECT OUR FREE AND OPEN SOCIETIES. FROM THE BEGINNING, THE SOVIETS HAD THE DOMINANCE IN LAND WARFARE. THIS WAS COUNTERED BY AMERICAN SUPERIORITY IN STRATEGIC FORCES. BY 1980, THE SOVIET STRATEGIC OFFENSIVE FORCES HAD CAUGHT UP AND, IN MANY KEY AREAS, SURPASSED OURS. THE SOVIETS ARE NOW PROTECTING THEIR LAND MISSILE FORCE BY MAKING MUCH OF IT MOBILE, WHEREAS OUR MOBILE MISSILES WILL NOT BE DEPLOYED UNTIL WELL INTO THE 1990s. Approved For Release 2011/06/30: CIA-RDP88G01117RO01004050004-7 Approved For Release 2011/06/30: CIA-RDP88G01117RO01004050004-7 THE SOVIETS HAVE FOR WELL OVER A DECADE CONDUCTED A VIGOROUS MISSILE DEFENSE PROGRAM. THEY ARE NOW COMPLETING A MISSILE DEFENSE SYSTEM AROUND MOSCOW. WE HAVE NO COMPARABLE SYSTEM. FACING A COMBINATION OF OFFENSIVE AND DEFENSIVE MISSILE FORCES CAPABLE OF A FIRST STRIKE AGAINST OUR NUCLEAR DETERRENT, OUR SDI RESEARCH IS EXAMINING WHETHER EFFECTIVE DEFENSES, WHICH THREATEN NO ONE, CAN PROVIDE A MORE STABLE DETERRENT. WHILE WE NEGOTIATE TO SCALE DOWN THE HUGE NUCLEAR ARSENAL WITH WHICH THE TWO SUPERPOWERS FACE EACH OTHER, A MORE INSIDIOUS THREAT IS DEVELOPING. THE SOVIETS' MASSIVE NUCLEAR AND CONVENTIONAL FORCES MAY BE ONLY A SHIELD TO MAKE IT EASIER AND LESS RISKY TO INTIMIDATE AND SUBVERT WEAKER GOVERNMENTS AND TO GOBBLE UP PIECES OF TERRITORY AROUND THE GLOBE. THEY HAVE ACQUIRED BRIDGEHEADS IN CUBA AND VIETNAM, IN SOUTH YEMEN AND ETHIOPIA, IN ANGOLA AND NICARAGUA, IN CAMBODIA AND AFGHANISTAN. THESE BRIDGEHEADS ARE BEING LINKED IN A GROWING LOGISTIC AND MUTUAL SUPPORT NETWORK SUPPORTED WITH EXPANDING SOVIET NAVAL AND AIR POWER. 2 Approved For Release 2011/06/30: CIA-RDP88G01117RO01004050004-7 Approved For Release 2011/06/30: CIA-RDP88G01117RO01004050004-7 IN THE CARIBBEAN, THE SOVIETS HAVE CREATED IN CUBA THE STRONGEST MILITARY FORCE IN THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF OUR OWN. OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS THEY HAVE GIVEN CUBA MASSIVE INFUSIONS OF MILITARY HARDWARE. TODAY, WE SEE AN EXTENSION OF THIS CUBAN BASE ON THE AMERICAN MAINLAND IN NICARAGUA. SIMILAR LINKS AND COMPONENTS OF THIS NETWORK HAVE BEEN ESTABLISHED AROUND THE GLOBE. FROM ANGOLA, SOVIET NAVAL AND AIR FORCES NOW ROUTINELY OPERATE ASTRIDE WESTERN SHIPPING LANES IN THE ATLANTIC. SIMILARLY, THIS NETWORK THREATENS WESTERN SEA LANES IN THE RED SEA, ARABIAN SEA, AND INDIAN OCEAN FROM BASES IN ETHIOPIA AND SOUTH YEMEN. SOVIET NAVAL AND AIR FORCES, OPERATING OUT OF OUR FORMER BASES AT CAM RANH BAY AND DA NANG IN VIETNAM, COMMAND THE VITAL SEA LANES LINKING JAPAN, TAIWAN AND SOUTH KOREA WITH THEIR MIDDLE EAST OIL SUPPLIES AND SOUTHEAST ASIAN ALLIES. THE MEDITERRANEAN SEGMENT OF THIS SOVIET GLOBAL NETWORK IS ANCHORED AT LIBYA AND SYRIA, WHICH ARE GAINING INFLUENCE AND CONTROL IN LEBANON AND SUDAN TO FURTHER SQUEEZE ISRAEL AND THE MODERATE ARAB STATES. 3 Approved For Release 2011/06/30: CIA-RDP88G01117RO01004050004-7 Approved For Release 2011/06/30: CIA-RDP88G01117RO01004050004-7 THESE BRIDGEHEADS ARE NOT STATIC. THEY HAVE A PURPOSE. THEY ARE LOCATED NEAR STRATEGIC CHOKE POINTS IN THE WORLD'S SEA LANES OR IN AREAS OF HIGH TENSION AND POTENTIAL CONFLICT. THEY ARE BEING USED TO SPREAD SUBVERSION AND TERROR, AND SPAWN NEW BRIDGEHEADS IN NEIGHBORING COUNTRIES. FROM CUBA AND NICARAGUA, TERRORISM AND SUBVERSION ARE BEING EXPORTED THROUGHOUT CENTRAL AMERICA AND INTO CHILE, COLOMBIA AND ELSEWHERE IN LATIN AMERICA. FROM LIBYA, THERE IS INVASION OF CHAD, ATTEMPTS AT DESTABILIZING GOVERNMENTS IN EGYPT AND TUNISIA, ZAIRE AND SUDAN, AND SUBVERSION THROUGHOUT WEST AFRICA. FROM ANGOLA, THERE ARE INTRUSIONS INTO ZAIRE. FROM SOVIET-OCCUPIED AFGHANISTAN, THERE ARE CONTINUING ARMED INTRUSIONS INTO PAKISTAN. ALREADY A HALLMARK OF THE GORBACHEV REGIME IS INTENSIFIED EFFORT TO CEMENT THESE BRIDGEHEADS. HAVING PILED CLOSE TO TWO BILLION DOLLARS WORTH OF ARMS INTO ANGOLA, SOVIET ADVISORS AND CUBAN TROOPS ARE FEVERISHLY PREPARING A CAMPAIGN, LIKELY TO BE LAUNCHED DURING THIS MONTH AND DESIGNED TO WIPE OUT THE SAVIMBI FORCES RESISTING THE MARXIST GOVERNMENT OF ANGOLA. STARTING TWO MONTHS AGO, WITH HALF A BILLION DOLLARS WORTH OF SOPHISTICATED WEAPONS RECENTLY ACQUIRED, THE SANDINISTA ARMY WITH CUBAN HELICOPTER PILOTS AND COMBAT DIRECTION HAS BEEN GOING ALL OUT TO DESTROY THE CONTRAS BEFORE CONGRESS RENEWS ASSISTANCE TO THEM. LAST WEEK SOME 1,500 SANDINISTA TROOPS CROSSED THE HONDURAN BORDER FOR THIS PURPOSE AND THIS WEEK WE HAVE SEEN THOUSANDS OF MISKITO INDIANS IN THE EASTERN PART OF NICARAGUA DRIVEN INTO HONDURAS. 4 Approved For Release 2011/06/30: CIA-RDP88G01117RO01004050004-7 Approved For Release 2011/06/30: CIA-RDP88G01117RO01004050004-7 THE SOVIETS ARE ALSO MOVING HARD TU NAIL DOWN THEIR BRIDGEHEADS IN THE MIDDLE EAST. IN SOUTH YEMEN, WE HAVE RECENTLY SEEN THE APPLICATION OF THE SO-CALLED BREZHNEV DOCTRINE WHICH SAYS: "ONCE COMMUNIST, ALWAYS COMMUNIST." THE GOVERNMENT THERE HAD BEGUN TO OPEN UP TU THE WEST. HARDLINE PRO-SOVIET EXILES RETURNED FROM MOSCOW AND INITIATED A COUP AGAINST THE SOUTH YEMEN PRESIDENT. THE COUP SOON ESCALATED INTO A BLOODY CIVIL WAR BETWEEN MILITARY AND TRIBAL ELEMENTS LOYAL TO THE PRESIDENT AND THOSE OF A HARDLINE PRO-SOVIET CAMP. AFTER THE. SOVIETS WATCHED THE BLOOD FLOW FOR A FEW DAYS, PLANES FLOWN BY SOVIET PILOTS BEGAN POUNDING PRO-GOVERNMENT FORCES AND SOVIET WEAPONS BEGAN FLOWING TO REBEL FORCES. WE HAD SEEN THIS MESSAGE BEFORE IN AFGHANISTAN IN 1979 AND GRENADA IN 1982. IT TELLS US THAT LEADERS OF GOVERNMENTS INSTALLED BY MOSCOW WHO SEEK IMPROVED RELATIONS WITH THE WEST DO SO AT THEIR PERIL. THE SOVIETS ARE NOT READY TO BROOK ANY CHALLENGE IN ANY PART OF THEIR EMPIRE. UNTIL RECENTLY, THE SOVIET HAND WAS MORE CAREFULLY SCREENED AND SUBTLY USED IN THE MIDDLE EAST. TODAY, THE SOVIET INVESTMENT IN SYRIA AND LIBYA IS AT AN ALL TIME HIGH WITH SOME 6,000 SOVIET BLOC MILITARY ADVISORS AND A MASSIVE ARSENAL OF SOVIET PLANES, TANKS AND ROCKETS. THOSE COUNTRIES, ALONG WITH IRAN, HAVE DISCOVERED IN TERRORISM A LOW COST, LOW RISK MEANS OF ATTACKING DEMOCRATIC GOVERNMENTS IN EUROPE, THE MIDDLE EAST AND LATIN AMERICA. TERRORISM TODAY IS AN INTEGRAL PART OF THE FOREIGN Approved For Release 2011/06/30: CIA-RDP88G01117RO01004050004-7 Approved For Release 2011/06/30: CIA-RDP88G01117RO01004050004-7 POLICY AND DEFENSE APPARATUS OF THESE STATES. TINY LIBYA REACHES SOUTH INTO THE HEART OF AFRICA AND EAST TO PRESS, TOGETHER WITH ETHIOPIA, ON SUDAN. WE SEE SYRIA PUSHING HARD TO COMPLETE ITS DOMINATION OF LEBANON AND BRING SOPHISTICATED SOVIET WEAPONS SOUTH CLOSER TO ISRAEL. THE ONLY THING THE SOVIETS HAVE TO SELL IN THE MIDDLE EAST IS MUNITIONS. THEY WILL EXPEND MAJOR EFFORT TO PRESERVE THE TRADITIONALLY SOVIET-DOMINATED ARMS MARKETS IN IRAQ, ALGERIA, AND NORTH YEMEN AGAINST WESTERN COMPETITION. THEY WILL WORK TO EXPAND THE SOVIET SHARE OF TRADITIONALLY WESTERN-DOMINATED MARKETS, PARTICULARLY IN JORDAN AND KUWAIT, AND TO WIN BACK A SHARE OF THE MARKET IN EGYPT AND SUDAN. THEY ARE LIKELY TO ENHANCE SOVIET OR SOVIET-CONTROLLED RECONNAISSANCE AND FIREPOWER IN THE EASTERN AND SOUTHERN MEDITERRANEAN. WE CAN EXPECT THEM TO STEP UP THEIR EFFORTS TO REUNIFY THE PLO AND CONVINCE SYRIA TO END ITS DISPUTES WITH ITS ARAB RIVALS. IT IS ALSO POSSIBLE THAT TO SABOTAGE US-SPONSORED PEACE NEGOTIATIONS, MOSCOW MIGHT BACK AN AGGRESSIVE SYRIAN MILITARY POSTURE TOWARD ISRAEL, ABANDON ARAFAT, THROW FULL SUPPORT BEHIND THE LEFTIST AND SYRIAN-BACKED FACTIONS OF THE PLO, AND PROVIDE GREATER BACKING FOR THE SUBVERSIVE EFFORTS OF LIBYA AND OTHER RADICAL AND LEFTIST GROUPS. 6 Approved For Release 2011/06/30: CIA-RDP88G01117RO01004050004-7 Approved For Release 2011/06/30: CIA-RDP88G01117RO01004050004-7 FROM THE NORTH, SYRIA, FROM THE WEST, LIBYA, FROM THE SOUTH, ADEN AND FROM THE EAST, IRAN OR PERHAPS IRAQ -- ALL THREATEN THE STABILITY OF THE MIDDLE EAST AND HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO SURROUND ISRAEL AND THE OIL FIELDS OF THE REGION. THE UNITED STATES AND ISRAEL HAVE A SHARED VITAL INTEREST IN ARRESTING THIS PATTERN OF SOVIET AND RADICAL EXPANSIONISM. THIS CREEPING IMPERIALISM HAS, IN MY VIEW, TWO PRIMARY TARGETS -- THE OIL FIELDS OF THE MIDDLE EAST WHICH ARE THE LIFE LINE OF THE WESTERN ALLIANCE AND THE ISTHMUS BETWEEN NORTH AND SOUTH AMERICA. AFGHANISTAN, SOUTH YEMEN, ETHIOPIA, AS WELL AS CAM RANH BAY IN VIETNAM, AND MOZAMBIQUE AND ANGOLA IN SOUTHERN AFRICA, BRING SOVIET POWER MUCH CLOSER TO THE SOURCES OF OIL AND MINERALS ON WHICH THE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS DEPEND AND PUTS SOVIET NAVAL AND AIR POWER ASTRIDE THE SEA LANES WHICH CARRY THOSE RESOURCES TO AMERICA, EUROPE AND JAPAN. CAPABILITIES TO THREATEN THE PANAMA CANAL IN THE SHORT TERM AND MEXICO IN A SOMEWHAT LONGER TERM ARE BEING DEVELOPED, WITH SOVIET SUPPORT, BY CUBA AND NICARAGUA. THEY HAVE WORKED QUIETLY AND STEADILY TOWARD THEIR OBJECTIVES OF BUILDING THE POWER OF THE STATE SECURITY APPARATUS, BUILDING THE STRONGEST ARMED FORCES IN CENTRAL AMERICA, AND BECOMING A CENTER FOR EXPORTING SUBVERSION TO NICARAGUA'S NEIGHBORS. 7 Approved For Release 2011/06/30: CIA-RDP88G01117RO01004050004-7 Approved For Release 2011/06/30: CIA-RDP88G01117RO01004050004-7 THIS EXPANSION OF THE SOVIET EMPIRE, WHILE STILL THREATENING, HAS BEEN SLOWED IF NOT HALTED. IN THE DECADE OF THE 1980s, THE SOVIETS HAVE NOT ACQUIRED A SINGLE NEW COLONY. THE SOVIET UNION CANNOT SUPPORT ITS EMPIRE ECONOMICALLY. FOR EVERY COUNTRY THAT HAS EMBRACED IT, SOVIET MARXISM HAS BECOME A ONE-WAY TICKET TO OPPRESSION AND POVERTY. DURING THE 1970s, PEOPLE IN MANY PARTS OF THE WORLD WERE FLOCKING TO JOIN COMMUNIST INSURGENCIES. IN THE 1980s, THIS TREND HAS REVERSED. TODAY, SOME HALF MILLION PEOPLE AROUND THE WORLD ARE FIGHTING IN RESISTANCE MOVEMENTS AGAINST COMMUNIST REGIMES OR COMMUNIST OCCUPATION. AFGHANISTAN IS VIRTUALLY A NATION-IN-ARMS FIGHTING AGAINST 120,000 SOVIET OCCUPATION TROOPS. IN ANGOLA, SAVIMBI HAS SOME 60,000 FIGHTERS IN ALL PARTS OF THE COUNTRY BATTLING THE CUBANS, MARXIST ANGOLANS, AND SOVIET ADVISORS. IN ETHIOPIA, ERITREAN AND TIGREAN REBELS FIGHT THE MARXIST MENGISTU GOVERNMENT AND THE LARGEST ARMY IN AFRICA WITH ITS CUBAN AND SOVIET ADVISORS. IN KAMPUCHEA, 50,000 INSURGENTS STRUGGLE BITTERLY WITH 170,000 OCCUPYING VIETNAMESE SOLDIERS. THESE WARS OF NATIONAL LIBERATION BEING WAGED IN SOVIET COLONIES ON THREE CONTINENTS REPRESENT A GEOPOLITICAL PHENOMENON OF IMMENSE HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE. JUST AS THE THIRD WORLD REJECTED WESTERN COLONIALISM IN THE 1950s AND 1960s, SO IT IS NOW REJECTING SOVIET COLONIALISM IN THE 1980s. AND IT IS USING THE SOVIETS' OWN STRATEGY OF ARMED GUERRILLA RESISTANCE -- WARS OF LIBERATION -- TO DO SO. 8 Approved For Release 2011/06/30: CIA-RDP88G01117RO01004050004-7 Approved For Release 2011/06/30: CIA-RDP88G01117RO01004050004-7 IF WE HOLD FIRM, THE PENDULUM OF HISTORY WILL COMPLETE ITS SWING AWAY FROM SOVIET MARXISM AS A MODEL FOR COUNTRIES IN ASIA, AFRICA, AND LATIN AMERICA, AND TOWARD THE CONCEPTS OF DEMOCRACY AND A FREE MARKET ECONOMY. IN LATIN AMERICA, FOR EXAMPLE, ARGENTINA, BRAZIL, URUGUAY, VENEZUELA, ECUADOR, PERU, COLOMBIA, PANAMA, COSTA RICA, EL SALVADOR, HONDURAS AND GUATEMALA ARE ALL FUNCTIONING DEMOCRACIES. THE SOVIETS HAVE OVER-EXPANDED AND ARE ON THE DEFENSIVE. THE RADICAL ARAB STATES ARE WEAK ECONOMICALLY AND WITHOUT FRIENDS POLITICALLY, WHILE EGYPT, JORDAN AND OTHER ARAB MODERATES HAVE GOOD FRIENDS AND OUTSIDE SUPPORT. TO THWART THE THREAT OF SOVIET EXPANSIONISM AND RADICALISM IN THE MIDDLE EAST, WE HAVE USED AND WILL EXPAND UPON THREE INTER-RELATED STRATEGIES -- IMPROVED STRATEGIC COOPERATION, THE PURSUIT OF PEACE, AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. IN THE LAST FEW YEARS THE UNITED STATES HAS STRENGTHENED AND INVIGORATED ITS STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP WITH ISRAEL. AS SECRETARY SHULTZ SAID HERE LAST YEAR, "STRATEGIC COOPERATION BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND ISRAEL HAS BECOME A FORMAL, INSTITUTIONAL PROCESS." I CAN ADD THAT THIS HAS INCLUDED ENHANCED COOPERATION ON INTELLIGENCE EXCHANGES PARTICULARLY ON TERRORISM. AT THE SAME TIME, WE HAVE ALSO EXPANDED OUR COOPERATIVE RELATIONSHIP WITH FRIENDLY ARAB STATES WHO ALSO SEE A SOVIET AND RADICAL DANGER. 9 Approved For Release 2011/06/30: CIA-RDP88G01117RO01004050004-7 Approved For Release 2011/06/30: CIA-RDP88G01117RO01004050004-7 TOGETHER WE MUST FIGHT TERRORISM, A THREAT WHICH FACES ALL OUR FRIENDS IN THE MIDDLE EAST. MIDDLE EAST RADICALS DEDICATED TO WEAKENING THE WEST AND ISRAEL ARE ALSO DEDICATED TO THE DESTRUCTION OF MODERATE AND PRO-WESTERN REGIMES IN THE ARAB WORLD -- DETERMINED THAT A PEACEFUL SETTLEMENT NEVER BE REACHED -- DETERMINED TO POLARIZE THE ARAB WORLD SO THAT ACCOMMODATION CAN NEVER BE REACHED, SO THAT ARAB STATES PURSUING A PRAGMATIC COURSE COLLAPSE IN FRONT OF MARXIST OR FUNDAMENTALIST ASSAULTS. THE SOVIET UNION, EVEN WHEN IT CANNOT ALWAYS CONTROL THESE MOVEMENTS, PROFITS FROM THEM AS THEY WEAKEN OR ELIMINATE AREAS OF WESTERN INFLUENCE IN THE REGION. WE REMAIN DEEPLY COMMITTED TO PURSUING A POLITICAL PROCESS TO END THE ARAB-ISRAELI DISPUTE. THE REINVIGORATION OF THE PEACE PROCESS IS, IN MY VIEW, OF OVERRIDING GEOPOLITICAL IMPORTANCE IN ORDER TO DENY THE SOVIETS A LEVER FOR ENTRE TO THE MIDDLE EAST. WE REMAIN READY TO ASSIST THE PARTIES DIRECTLY CONCERNED TO NEGOTIATE FACE TO FACE A SOLUTION TO THEIR DIFFERENCES. WE REAFFIRMED THIS DETERMINATION TO PRIME MINISTER PERES LAST WEEK. FINALLY, WE ARE CONVINCED THAT ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IS CRITICAL TO BUILDING BARRIERS TO RADICALISM AND SOVIET IMPERIALISM. PRIME MINISTER PERES HAS PROPOSED JOINT ECONOMIC COOPERATION AMONG ISRAEL, EGYPT, AND JORDAN UNDER A NEW "MARSHAL PLAN" STYLE PROGRAM. ALREADY THE UNITED STATES PROVIDES MORE 10 Approved For Release 2011/06/30: CIA-RDP88G01117RO01004050004-7 Approved For Release 2011/06/30: CIA-RDP88G01117RO01004050004-7 ECONOMIC AID TO THESE STATES THAN ANY OTHERS. WE ARE DETERMINED TO STAND BY THIS COMMITMENT. WE HOPE THAT OTHER STATES WITH AN INTEREST IN THE REGION -- INCLUDING THE EUROPEANS AND JAPAN -- WILL ENLIST IN REGIONAL ECONOMIC HELP. STRATEGIC COOPERATION, DIPLOMACY FOR PEACE, AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ARE THE KEYS TO MAINTAINING THE MOMENTUM BUILT IN THE LAST YEARS TO HALTING SOVIET ADVANCES IN THE MIDDLE EAST. WE HAVE VITAL INTERESTS IN THE MIDDLE EAST AND SHARED VALUES WITH ISRAEL. WORKING TOGETHER WE MUST MAINTAIN THOSE VALUES IN THE MIDDLE EAST AND THE MEDITERRANEAN AND ELSEWHERE. 11 Approved For Release 2011/06/30: CIA-RDP88G01117RO01004050004-7