Remarks and Press Availability at Signing Ceremony for Memorandum of Understanding on U.S. Military Assistance

Released by the American Embassy Tel Aviv – Press Section

UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: Good morning ladies and gentlemen. To the Governor of the Central Bank of Israel, Stanley Fisher, I just want to say thank you so much for the remarks you just made and to the entire Israeli delegation, thank you for the work that you have done over the last six months. I want to pay a special tribute to Governor Fisher, who led the Israeli side of these negotiations with great skill and wisdom, to the Ambassador of Israel to the United States, Salai Meridor, who is a good friend to many of us and a very effective representative of his country in Washington, to Aharon Abramovich, my friend, to Director General Buchris, and to the other leaders who are here from Israel, thank you for the work that we have done together.

I am here to represent President Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, and also here with my friend, Ambassador Dick Jones, to say how pleased we are that the United States can make this long term investment in Israel’s security of a 30 billion dollar figure of defense assistance over ten years. That is a major contribution of American assistance. We do it first and foremost because the United States has an abiding interest in the security of Israel. Every American President since President Harry Truman, when Israel was founded, has felt that the United States should be at front and center in supporting the State of Israel. President Bush certainly feels that way, and we know that the American people are committed to their security; the American people are committed to the security of Israel. This contribution of 30 billion dollars over the next decade will allow the State of Israel to plan its defensive expenditures in a way that is rational, in a way that takes into account its own appreciation of its situation in this region, and allows successive American administrations to also know that our commitment to Israel will be secure beyond the presidency of President Bush and into the next American presidency. That is a very important point for us.

Secondly, I would like to say that the United States, of course, understands that Israel lives in an increasingly dangerous region. When Secretary Rice made her statement two weeks ago announcing that we would commit to this level of military assistance for Israel, she noted the fact that the United States and Israel and many of our friends in the Arab world face a situation where Iran is resurgent, where Iran is seeking a nuclear weapons capability, where it is seeking to expand its conventional power in the Middle East.

There is now an excess of cooperation among Iran and Syria, Hizbullah, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and other groups who are responsible for the conflicts in this region - and Iran and Syria in particular - funding and arming those groups that are terrorist in nature and that in every part of the Middle East are the reason why there is violence. In their assistance to Hamas – Iran’s assistance to Hamas – in their assistance to Hizbullah and the destabilizing impact that Hizbullah has in Lebanon, in Iran’s assistance to the Shi’a militant groups in Iraq and the adverse consequences that has had for our country. So, we look at this region and we understand that a secure and strong Israel is in the interests of the United States. We have also announced, in conjunction with this assistance to Israel, maintenance of our very high level of defense assistance to Egypt. We have said to the congressional leadership that we intend to seek their support for increased military assistance to our friends in the Gulf: To Saudi Arabia and to Kuwait and to Bahrain and to Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and to Oman. All of this together represents a signal from the United States that our country is strong in this region, that we intend to be a good friend to our allies and our partners in this region, and we intend to work with them for peace and stability and against those who attract this terrorism and violence in the region.

The final point I would like to say is this: We consider this 30 billion dollars in assistance to Israel to be an investment in peace – in long-term peace. Peace will not be made without strength. Peace will not be made without Israel being strong in the future. Of course, our objective as a country and our specific objective as a government is to contribute to that peace, a peace between Israel and the Palestinian people, the creation of an independent Palestinian state willing to live side by side in peace with Israel, and a general peace in the region that has eluded the Israeli people for 59 years but which is, we hope, the destiny of the Israeli people as well as the Arab peoples of the region. Our policy in this entire region is dedicated to that final objective.

So, with those three points in mind, I just wanted to say how grateful we are in the United States for the way that we have been able to work with our Israeli colleagues. There are personal bonds of friendship here, in this room, that are very important to us. There is a national bond of friendship which is important to every American and to our government. We are very proud to be able to sign this agreement today. We thank Governor Fisher and his colleagues for the way that these negotiations have been conducted.

Thank you very much.

(Signing of the MOU)

Begin Questions:

QUESTION: This question is to Under Secretary Burns. Allow me, please, two questions. One, regarding that document that you have just signed, are there any restrictions, are there any stipulations that are attached to that document, that are either an annex or something that does not appear, is not being articulated here in this page, on what are the things that the administration expects Israel to do or to act accordingly, and how to use that assistance? Are there things that Israel is not expected to do? This is one question. The other one would be just the original question, if you will. What are the expectations from the regional meeting that the President has initiated and do you have a confirmation to the fact that Saudi Arabia is expected to take part in that meeting, and if so, at what level?

UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: Thank you very much. Well, I think you will soon see the text of this memorandum of understanding. It is very straightforward. It reflects the fact that both Israel and the United States agree on many things. We agree that the security of Israel is important to both of our countries and to peace in the Middle East. We agree that particularly the interest of the United States in helping Israel to maintain military strength is obvious, that this is a reflection of the support of our administration and I should say of the sentiment in our Congress, which very deeply supports the State of Israel. It stipulates the fact that over the next ten years there will be an increase in the level of bilateral military assistance that actually is very specific in terms of how we will do that. You know this is 30 billion dollars over ten years and it averages over that time 3 billion. It is an average, but the numbers do add up. I was with the Governor of the Central Bank this morning and we did make sure that the numbers add up in this glide path. In that sense, the memorandum of understanding does not convey any restrictions. We have great faith in the Israeli government. We have great faith that the Israeli government will make the necessary decisions to strengthen its military forces. The United States has a self interest in that. It is a straightforward memorandum. I think you will see it when it is released to the press.

The second question, I would only say that I arrived here yesterday, but after having spent the last week or so in Washington – and Secretary Rice has focused very much on what the President of the United States has asked her to do, and that is to convene a meeting in the United States in the autumn. We have not yet set the date for that meeting, but a meeting that would be designed to propel forward a future peace between Israel and the Palestinian people. I will be, in the course of my trip this week, of course, meeting with members of the Palestinian leadership. We do that because we have great faith in them and look forward to working with them as well as other countries in the region to support this process and to see a quickening of that process and to see a deeper commitment by everyone involved to make progress. In that respect I think when Secretary Rice and Secretary Gates were in the region just two weeks ago, I think she spoke to the press after her meeting with the King of Saudi Arabia and with Prince Saud, and I will let Secretary Rice’s comments stand for the record. I couldn’t possibly improve on them. Thank you.

QUESTION: I would like to ask Under Secretary Burns. Given the regional aspect of this arms assistance deal, how important was the size of this investment in Israel to getting the support of the American Congress?

UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: Well, thank you very much. Of course, we worked on this agreement with the Israeli government over the last six months. Governor Fisher led a delegation of nearly everybody on this dais and many people in the front row to Washington back in February/March. We had extensive conversations with the Israeli government at that time. In fact, some very impressive presentations were made by the Israeli military leadership as well as the civilian leadership about Israel’s long-term projection of the threats to Israel and of how Israel had to prepare for those threats. That was a very important session for us, because it gave us over the course of two days many, many hours of conversation, a very specific sense of what Israel is facing and how Israel would prepare itself to maintain the peace. That also led us to have a series of conversations with the Congressional leadership about what was the right level of support for the United States. So, we did take care to talk to many members of the Congress about this. In fact, I just phoned – I don’t think he would mind me saying this – I just phoned Chairman Tom Lantos on the way over to this meeting to say that we would be signing this agreement and I hope very much that we will have the support of the Congress. I think we will for this level of assistance to Israel. We have been the main supporter of Israeli security for many decades. But there is no question from an American point of view that the Middle East is a more dangerous region now, even more than it was ten or twenty years ago. And if Israel is facing a greater threat, it is immediate and it is also long-term. The United States faces many of the same threats from the same organizations and countries that Israel does. So, we felt this was the right level of assistance and I hope very much, and I am confident, that we will receive a lot of support in Congress for this. I will let the members speak for themselves and the leadership speak for itself, but I am confident of that and I think that the last point is that many members of Congress understand that the United States also has friends in the Arab world, of long standing. These are countries that will be vital to building a peace between Israel and the Arab countries. So, our investment in their long term security is also important, and it is also part of this general context that we deal with, and the general policy that the United States is putting forward for our longer term interests in the Middle East.

QUESTION: I wonder if you can elaborate on what has been stated from both sides over the past two weeks, that this deal is meant to preserve Israel’s qualitative edge in material terms – actually “materiel” terms. To the best of my knowledge, nothing has been published about the hardware that is going to be supplied to Israel or what is going to be supplied to Saudi Arabia or Egypt. And in past deals, to the best of my knowledge, what allies of the United States have received in terms of the official value has been very similar to what Israel has received. So, how in material terms, do you intend to preserve Israel’s qualitative edge? There has been speculation in the Israeli press about the F-22, even the Tomahawk. Is there something we could see?

DR. FISHER: There have been specific discussions between the defense departments of the two countries on the details that you are discussing. Mr. Buchris, are you willing to add any details?

MR. BUCHRIS: I don’t think at this point that there is much point in going into the details, particularly of agreements that the U.S. has not signed with other countries. In terms of Israel’s own requests, as far as I am aware at this stage, there have been discussions of the types of systems that would be involved, but I am unaware of specific agreements on future specific systems that will be involved.

UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: I would be happy to just try to answer your question by saying that I think every American President since President Reagan – I believe President Reagan was the first to articulate this – has believed that the United States should be committed to Israel’s qualitative military edge. That was a major consideration as we went through the deliberations with our Israeli colleagues over the last six months, and I think it is self evident why that should be so. We are not in a position today to announce the specific elements of long-term Israeli acquisitions of American military technology, but that will be announced in due course when we, on the American side, begin to notify the Congress, as we must under our constitutional system. Needless to say, given Israel’s predicament of living in a region that is very violent and unstable, its military edge is of interest to our country, and we have committed to that. I think that principle runs through everything that we have done and the agreement that we signed today.

QUESTION: Under Secretary Burns, you called this 30 billion dollars “an investment in peace.” But by guaranteeing this money for ten years, aren’t you taking away vital leverage that the international community and the United States could have to encourage Israel and the Palestinians towards some kind of peace agreement in the future? And what happens if a different government is elected in Israel, perhaps a more hawkish government? Is there a possibility that if Israel starts to do things the United States doesn’t like, it could turn off the taps and reduce this aid, or is it fixed?

UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: Well, I guess I just would respectfully take issue with the logic behind your question. We are a friend of Israel. We are committed to Israel. We are also a friend to many of the Arab countries in this region. We are committed to their security, and what Secretary Rice announced two weeks ago with Secretary Gates was a long-term military commitment to Israel, to Egypt, and to the members of the Gulf Cooperation Council, the countries that I listed in my opening remarks. But the logic is somehow that you strengthen the country by undermining it. I don’t understand that logic. The only way we can achieve peace in the Middle East is to have strength, and the democratic country in this region – Israel – deserves continued and consistent military support from its partner and friend, the United States. The Arab countries in the region that are willing to stand up for peace and have a long term association with the United States also deserve the certainty of knowing that we are going to be there for them. So, I would suggest the reverse of your question. I think history in many different areas would indicate that the only way to peace is to show countries like Iran and Syria that the United States will remain the primary factor of stability in this region, that our own presence – political and military – is going to continue, and that we are going to stand up for our friends. That is the best way to make peace, and whether it is the peace breakthroughs made here in 1977 and ’78 and ’79 or those made in the mid-1990’s, they were all made because the United States did not forsake Israel. The United States paid attention to Israeli security as well as those of our Arab friends. So, that is the foundation that we are laying today and it is a very important one for peace. I don’t see any other road to peace, frankly, if countries don’t meet their commitments to their friends.

QUESTION: Mr. Burns, how is this understanding, if at all, related to the proposed sale to the Saudis, and during the discussions here, are you discussing with the Israelis the Saudi deal and hearing their reservations about that deal?

UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: The commitment that we are making for a long term, ten years of military assistance to Israel, is not linked to American military assistance to any other country in the region. It is not conditioned on it; it is not linked. It is completely separate. But it does take place within the wider framework of our general policy in the Middle East. That is how I would answer your first question. Your second question was...?

QUESTION: Are you hearing from the Israeli side reservations to the proposed sale to the Saudis?

UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: I will let the Israeli government speak for itself. I would say I met with the Prime Minister last evening and told him how grateful we were for some of the comments he made a week ago Sunday regarding why the United States felt it necessary to continue our relationship with our friends in the moderate Arab countries, and so we were grateful for those comments, but I would certainly leave to my Israelis colleagues whether they want to say anything today.

DR. FISHER: The Prime Minister has made the position of the Israeli government clear on this issue, which is to show understanding of the need for the United States to support its allies in the Gulf, and of course the relationship with Egypt is an ongoing, annual one, so I don’t think – that statement speaks for itself.

QUESTION: Has the United States conditioned all this financial aid? Any Israeli concessions towards the Palestinians, maybe even previous commitments by the Israeli government to dismantle illegal outposts? That is just one example. Has the United States demanded any concessions towards the Palestinians from the Israeli government?

UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: This agreement does not have within it restrictions or conditions. We have not linked this – our support for the future security of Israel – to any other issue. It stands on its own. There is an intrinsic American interest in seeing Israel remain secure and strong in the Middle East. So the agreement does not impose any conditions on the State of Israel in the way that you would suggest. But I did say in my remarks that Secretary Rice has spoken repeatedly in the past of the fact that we are committed to peace in this region. President Bush and Secretary Rice have made it clear that one of the major priorities for our government for the remaining months in office of this government – 17 months – will be to help push forward a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians. Secretary Rice has made that very clear. Obviously, that is a policy interest, but when you are a friend – and we are a friend of Israel and a supporter – when a country like Israel faces security threats, we give our commitment to help them. We will work in other areas, obviously, and sometimes we will agree and sometimes will disagree in aspects of policy, but when it comes to the security of a country, friends do what is right, and that is, we support them.

QUESTION: Mr. Burns, can you confirm that Israel is the only recipient of U.S. military aid that can be used domestically; I believe 26.3 percent towards its domestic arms industry. If that is the case, are we given to understand this is a fixed amount? Have you encountered or do you foresee opposition from U.S. arms industries to what is essentially a foreign competitor?

UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: You know that as part of this agreement, over the course of ten years, a certain percentage of the funds – slightly over a quarter – can be used by the State of Israel for purchases within Israel. We have had this agreement with Israel for a long time. I am just looking for assistance to my colleagues.... I am informed this is a unique agreement. I just wanted to be able to establish that, because we have relationships with a lot of countries around the world.

QUESTION: Do you confirm that there is concern about Israeli competition in the future?

UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: You know, the United States has a rather large defense budget. We also are a provider of military assistance to many of our friends around the world. This is a unique arrangement given the fact that we have a unique relationship with the State of Israel.

Thank you.

END OF PRESS AVAILABILITY