CLOSE-UP
King Fand of Saudi
Arabia and other
members of the
Saudi delegation at
last week's Arab
summit in Cairo.
UPI Photo
24
protect our own interests on Arab soil,"
said Dan Mariaschin, director of interna-
tional and public affairs for B'nai B'rith.
"But when it's all over, will they come back
and say, 'you have to do something for us
now?' And will that result in more pressure
on Israel to get the peace process moving?"
Mr. Mariaschin also suggested that the
recent dramatic events in the Gulf region
would incline the Israelis to move slower
on the peace process.
If Saddam does not attack any of his
neighbors in the next few months, the
mounting U.S.-Iraqi confrontation could
quickly become a grueling stalemate. And
this might further postpone any progress
on the Middle East peace process.
"This could be a long, drawn-out pro-
cess," Mr. Mariaschin said. "This could go
on six months or a year. If that's true, I
FRIDAY, AUGUST 17, 1990
can't imagine that we're going to see a lot
of movement on the Palestinian-Israeli
issue. I'm not one who thinks we're going
to pick up where we left off right away. It's
going to take a while."
Israel's Position Hardens
The Iraqi invasion may also significant-
ly harden the Israeli opposition to an in-
dependent Palestinian state.
"It's going to change the political debate
in Israel," said Barry Rubin of the
Washington Institute. "How can we have
a Palestinian state if it might be aligned
with Iraq? What about the risk that it
might call in Iraqi troops, import Iraqi
weapons? The Israelis are bound to be very
nervous about this prospect."
There is also concern about the new rela-
tionship with Saudi Arabia.
While pro-Israel groups strongly support
the U.S. presence in the desert kingdom,
they fret about the possible trade-offs.
Specifically, Jewish activists are quiet-
ly asking what Secretary of Defense Dick
Cheney promised the Saudis in return for
allowing American troops on Saudi soil.
Already, the administration has used the
waiver provisions of the amendment which
limited the sale of advanced aircraft to the
Saudis.
Although there has been no opposition
to the waiver — Metzenbaum himself
agreed that the Persian Gulf context had
changed sufficiently to justify the
presidential action — there are strong con-
cerns about exactly what will be shipped
to Saudi Arabia in the next few months,
and about what equipment American