Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, February 10, 1991 TAG: 9102100189
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-13 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: JERUSALEM LENGTH: Short
The one-day trip by Arens kicks off a series of visits by top Israeli officials at a time of growing discomfort here with being left out of the war against Iraq and suspicion that at the conflict's end, Israel may be pressed to concede occupied territory to Palestinians as part of an overall Middle East peace settlement.
Foreign Minister David Levy is expected to meet Secretary of State James Baker early this week, and, later in the month, Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir plans to go to Washington to visit President Bush.
Despite increased communication between leaders on both sides, the Israeli government insists that Israel is being denied full cooperation from Washington.
There is special concern that the Bush administration is unwilling to approve secret Israeli plans to strike at Iraq. Israel will retaliate, if it is attacked by chemical weapons or suffers high casualties from missiles carrying conventional explosive warheads, Shamir told Bush in a letter last week.
"There is simply not enough communication," said a government official in discussing the need for Arens' trip. "Arens will discuss how Israel will respond to Iraqi attacks. We have our plans of action in place, but we need to work out just when and how with the Americans." - Los Angeles Times
by CNB