1968_4_arabisraelwar

170 / AMERICAN JEWISH YEAR BOOK, 1968
Ore.) came out unequivocally in favor of challenging the blockade. Senator
Morse said "American ships should be sent through that strait now to make
it perfectly clear to Nasser, Russia or any other power" that we will not
permit any country to violate our rights on the high seas.
The dominant mood in the Senate was expressed on May 23 by Senator
John C. Stennis (Dem., Miss.), head of the preparedness subcommittee of
the Armed Services Committee, who declared: "By no means should we go
it alone." Senate majority leader Mike Mansfield (Dem., Mont.) called for
"primary emphasis on the United Nations. There should be no question
of unilateral military involvement in the Near East." Any action, he said,
should be "on a multilateral or collective basis."
After a two-hour briefing of the Foreign Relations Committee by Secretary
Rusk, Chairman Fulbright said the situation was a "classic case" for the
United Nations because of the "multilateral interests" in the area and the
likelihood that an Arab-Israel clash would "bring in the major powers." Two
days later Fulbright declared that the Soviet Union held the key to a settlement
of the crisis, adding that the United States lacked influence in the Middle
East "because of its primary preoccupation with the war in Vietnam."
Senator Symington (Dem., Mo.), who long warned that the U.S. had overextended
its foreign commitments, said that if the U.S. was called on to
defend Israel, it might have to decide whether the Middle East was more important
than the Far East to the security of the U.S. In his view it was at
least "as important to defend Israel as to defend South Vietnam." But, he
concluded, "we have done enough unilateral intervening, and I don't think
we should go in unilaterally." Minority leader Dirksen also called for multilateral
action, as did Senator Javits, who considered keeping the Gulf open
the joint responsibility of all maritime nations. The late Senator Robert
F. Kennedy (Dem., N.Y.) suggested the U.S. explore the possibility of a
United Nations sea patrol in the Gulf of Aqaba.
Efforts for Multilateral Action
Meanwhile the United States was preparing a declaration for the signature
of as many maritime powers as possible, affirming the status of the Gulf as
an international waterway and implying their readiness to exercise the right
of free and innocent passage through the Strait of Tiran. However, the declaration
avoided any mention of force and did not obligate the signatories to
challenge the blockade. While declaring the blockade "illegal," American
official statements failed to call the blockade an act of "aggression,' 7 which
the U.S. might be expected to oppose with force. Secretary Rusk, on June 1,
dismissed a question on the possible use of force to test the blockade as
"purely speculative at this point." There were conflicting reports on whether
Britain, which strongly backed the maritime declaration, was in fact prepared
to use its naval power. Its ships in the area were alerted, but its two
aircraft carriers were still about 1,000 miles from the Strait of Tiran when