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Republican Dinner Meeting, Wilmington, DE, June 12, 1967 (speech not given)
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4526040
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Republican Dinner Meeting, Wilmington, DE, June 12, 1967 (speech not given)
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Gerald R. Ford Congressional Papers
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Middle East conflicts
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The original documents are located in Box D22, folder "Republican Dinner Meeting,
Wilmington, DE, June 12, 1967 (speech not given)" of the Ford Congressional Papers:
Press Secretary and Speech File at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library.
Copyright Notice
The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of
photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. The Council donated to the United
States of America his copyrights in all of his unpublished writings in National Archives collections.
Works prepared by U.S. Government employees as part of their official duties are in the public
domain. The copyrights to materials written by other individuals or organizations are presumed to
remain with them. If you think any of the information displayed in the PDF is subject to a valid
copyright claim, please contact the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library.
Digitized from Box D22 of The Ford Congressional Papers: Press Secretary
and Speech File at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library
NOTE speech Not
Given, however was
distributed Desclution of Middle to mailing FORD
list.
i LIBRARY GERALD
not
The
CONGRESSMAN
NEWS
GERALD R. FORD
HOUSE REPUBLICAN LEADER
RELEASE
--FOR RELEASE AT--
6:30 p.m., Monday, June 12, 1967
EXCERPTS FROM A SPEECH BY REP. GERALD R. FORD, R-MICH., HOUSE MINORITY LEADER,
AT A REPUBLICAN DINNER MEETING IN WILMINGTON, DEL.
Resolution of the Middle East crisis has produced a victory for the West.
To whom do we owe this fortuitous result? To the Johnson Administration? No,
not at all. The Administration's diplomatic moves were completely ineffective.
It was little Israel which saved itself and the West. The United States can
claim no credit. Neither can the United Nations. And to suggest that the Soviet
Union played the role of peacemaker is absolutely ridiculous.
Without one grain of partisanship, I must make the observation that the
United States simply "lucked out" in a situation which could have wrecked all of
our efforts at minimizing Soviet influence in the Middle East and preserving the
balance of power there.
It is little Israel--not the Johnson Administration--which has prevented the
Soviet Union from suddenly becoming the big power that calls the tune in the
Middle East.
It is because of little Israel--not the Johnson Administration--that the
Soviet Union has in fact suffered a serious loss of prestige in the Middle East.
Gallant little Israel has handed the Soviet Union a severe setback because
the Israelis displayed a courage which has been sadly lacking in the western
democracies in recent years.
The Johnson Administration succeeded in only one respect--that of establish-
ing a new credibility gap.
The Administration failed miserably in trying to get other maritime nations
to join with the United States in declaring the Gulf of Aqaba an international
waterway and moving to lift the blockade which was the direct cause of the war.
When the trustworthiness and the effectiveness of the American commitment to
oppose aggression against any Middle East nation crumbled, the entire American
policy in the Middle East crumbled with it. The Johnson Administration succeeded
in creating a credibility gap in that part of the world.
Americans were reluctant to risk getting into war in the Middle East while
500,000 of our men are fighting in Vietnam. I firmly believe the Middle East
(more)
-2-
crisis could have been resolved without war if the Administration had been on top
of the situation from the very beginning--if U Thant had not been allowed to pull
out the UN peacekeeping force on his own authority--if the United States and other
maritime nations had called Nasser's bluff on the blockade of Aqaba.
The Johnson Administration may now seek to revive its East-West Trade
proposals on the ground that the Soviet Union acted reasonably and with great
restraint in the Middle East crisis. This is just another Johnson Administration
pipe dream. The truth is the Soviet Union helped create the crisis.
The truth is that the Soviet Union later had no choice but to act reasonably
in the face of the swift and stunning Israeli military successes. The Soviet
Union opposed a UN cease-fire when it thought Egypt would prevail and supported a
cease-fire when it became obvious Israel was winning. The Soviets backed Egypt in
its war-provoking blockade of the Gulf of Aqaba, branded Israel the aggressor and
now continues to condemn the Israelis.
It was not the Soviet Union which removed the danger of a Soviet-U.S.
confrontation in the Middle East. The Soviets in fact laid the groundwork for
just such a confrontation. It was the lightning-like swiftness of Israel's
victory over Egypt that dissolved the possibility of a direct Soviet-U.S. clash.
No credit is due the Johnson Administration for the West's victory in the
Middle East. No credit is due the Soviet Union for avoidance of a wider war.
We can only be thankful for the bravery shown the world by the Israelis. Other-
wise the result might have been total disaster.
Now this Nation must diligently seek a settlement of all the problems that
led to the brief Arab-Israeli War.
*
Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Dayan, after a visit to Vietnam in 1966,
observed that we had failed to tighten the noose on the Viet Cong. The
Administration record in its "war of measured response" speaks for itself:
Stalemate.
####
CONGRESSMAN
NEWS
GERALD R. FORD
HOUSE REPUBLICAN LEADER
RELEASE
--FOR RELEASE AT--
6:30 p.m., Monday, June 12, 1967
EXCERPTS FROM A SPEECH BY REP. GERALD R. FORD, R-MICH., HOUSE MINORITY LEADER,
AT A REPUBLICAN DINNER MEETING IN WILMINGTON, DEL.
Resolution of the Middle East crisis has produced a victory for the West.
To whom do we owe this fortuitous result? To the Johnson Administration? No,
not at all. The Administration's diplomatic moves were completely ineffective.
It was little Israel which saved itself and the West. The United States can
claim no credit. Neither can the United Nations. And to suggest that the Soviet
Union played the role of peacemaker is absolutely ridiculous.
Without one grain of partisanship, I must make the observation that the
United States simply "lucked out" in a situation which could have wrecked all of
our efforts at minimizing Soviet influence in the Middle East and preserving the
balance of power there.
It is little Israel--not the Johnson Administration--which has prevented the
Soviet Union from suddenly becoming the big power that calls the tune in the
Middle East.
It is because of little Israel--not the Johnson Administration--that the
Soviet Union has in fact suffered a serious loss of prestige in the Middle East.
Gallant little Israel has handed the Soviet Union a severe setback because
the Israelis displayed a courage which has been sadly lacking in the western
democracies in recent years.
The Johnson Administration succeeded in only one respect--that of establish-
ing a new credibility gap.
The Administration failed miserably in trying to get other maritime nations
to join with the United States in declaring the Gulf of Aqaba an international
waterway and moving to lift the blockade which was the direct cause of the war.
When the trustworthiness and the effectiveness of the American commitment to
oppose aggression against any Middle East nation crumbled, the entire American
policy in the Middle East crumbled with it. The Johnson Administration succeeded
in creating a credibility gap in that part of the world.
Americans were reluctant to risk getting into war in the Middle East while
500,000 of our men are fighting in Vietnam. I firmly believe the Middle East
(more)
-2-
crisis could have been resolved without war if the Administration had been on top
of the situation from the very beginning--if U Thant had not been allowed to pull
out the UN peacekeeping force on his own authority--if the United States and other
maritime nations had called Nasser's bluff on the blockade of Aqaba.
The Johnson Administration may now seek to revive its East-West Trade
proposals on the ground that the Soviet Union acted reasonably and with great
restraint in the Middle East crisis. This is just another Johnson Administration
pipe dream. The truth is the Soviet Union helped create the crisis.
The truth is that the Soviet Union later had no choice but to act reasonably
in the face of the swift and stunning Israeli military successes. The Soviet
Union opposed a UN cease-fire when it thought Egypt would prevail and supported a
cease-fire when it became obvious Israel was winning. The Soviets backed Egypt in
its war-provoking blockade of the Gulf of Aqaba, branded Israel the aggressor and
now continues to condemn the Israelis.
It was not the Soviet Union which removed the danger of a Soviet-U.S.
confrontation in the Middle East. The Soviets in fact laid the groundwork for
just such a confrontation. It was the lightning-like swiftness of Israel's
victory over Egypt that dissolved the possibility of a direct Soviet-U.S. clash.
No credit is due the Johnson Administration for the West's victory in the
Middle East. No credit is due the Soviet Union for avoidance of a wider war.
We can only be thankful for the bravery shown the world by the Israelis. Other-
wise the result might have been total disaster.
Now this Nation must diligently seek a settlement of all the problems that
led to the brief Arab-Israeli War.
***
Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Dayan, after a visit to Vietnam in 1966,
observed that we had failed to tighten the noose on the Viet Cong. The
Administration record in its "war of measured response" speaks for itself:
Stalemate.
####