Facts For Your Files: A Chronology of U.S.-Middle East Relations April 19, 1982, Page 6 March 24: The
U.S. delivered the first shipment of F-16 fighter-bombers to Egypt,
which has purchased 40 in a drive to modernize its air force. The sale
of an additional 40 F-16s, as well as 220 M60 tanks, was proposed to
Congress by the Administration on March 23. March 31: President
Reagan, in answer to a press conference question on the Palestine
"autonomy talks," said: "I'm hopeful that we will see more progress on
these talks after April 25, when the transfer of the Sinai comes." March 31:
Nicholas Veliotes, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Near East and
South Asian Affairs, in testifying before the House Subcommittee on
Foreign Operations on the subject of the Iraq-Iran war, said:
"Consistent with our policy of neutrality towards this conflict, we
have refused to sell or authorize the transfer of U.S. controlled
defense articles and services to either Iran or Iraq. And we have urged
that others avoid actions which will have the effect of prolonging or
expanding the conflict." March 31: In
Aden, South Yemen, a prosecutor alleged that 11 of 13 Yemenis now on
trial for sabotage had been trained by "U.S. intelligence." April 2:
The
U.S. cast the lone negative vote on a United Nations Security Council
resolution demanding that Israel reinstate three West Bank mayors who
were removed from office in March on grounds they refused to cooperate
with the Israeli civilian administration, and were partisans of the
PLO. Thirteen nations voted in favor-China, France, Guyana, Ireland,
Japan, Jordan, Panama, Poland, Spain, Togo, Uganda, the United Kingdom,
and the U.S.S.R. Zaire abstained. April 7: Oman's
de facto Minister of Foreign Affairs, Youssef Alawi, said in a
published interview that there was "an understanding" between his
country and the United States that the U.S. would defend Oman. He also
said that in return for U.S, access to Oman air and naval facilities
for the Rapid Deployment Force, Oman expects the U.S. to finance its
purchase of $200-250 million worth of arms and to spend $1 billion on
the upgrading of its military facilities. April 8: A
conference of foreign ministers of the 70 "non-aligned" countries,
meeting in Kuwait, made a plea to the U.S. for it to review its Middle
East "policy and attitude in a positive and constructive way," The
Ministers deplored what they termed Washington's hostile attitude
towards the PLO, but held back from collectively condemning the Camp
David accords and criticizing Cairo's peace treaty with Israel. April 9: A
U.S. State Department spokesman, Alan Romberg, commenting on reports of
Israeli troop movements in the Lebanon-Israel border area, said: "Once
again we renew our appeal to all of those involved, or with influence
on those involved, to show the utmost restraint." April 10: The U.S. and Soviet Ambassadors to Lebanon met separately with Lebanon's President Elias Sarkis, who asked both for help
from their countries in staving off a feared Israeli invasion of southern Lebanon. April 11: The
U.S. Ambassador to Israel, Samuel Lewis, after meeting with Prime
Minister Begin in Jerusalem for three hours, said that Mr. Begin
"assured me that the Israeli cabinet has taken no decision to go into
Lebanon in any way, shape or form." April 14: Deputy
Secretary of State Walter Stoessel arrived in the Middle East to try to
iron out boundary and other problems between Egypt and Israel which
threatened to delay Israel's scheduled withdrawal from the remainder of
Sinai on April 25. |