ISRAELI TECHNICAL AID TO EL SALVADOR PART OF MEETINGS HERE

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00965R000302450012-8
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: October 4, 2012
• Sequence Number: 12
• Publication Date: April 21, 1984
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/10/04: CIA-RDP90-00965R000302450012-8
ARTICLE APPEAR
;DN PAGE
WASHINGTON POST
21 April 1984
Israeli Technical Aid
t To El Salvador Part
Of Meetings Here
By John M. Goshko
Washington Post Staff Writer
Israel and the United States plan
to discuss how the financially
strapped Israeli government can in-
crease its technical aid to Third
World nations, including El Sal-
vador, but U.S. and Israeli officials
said yesterday there had been no
discussion of Israel's helping guer-
rillas fighting the leftist Sandinista
government in Nicaragua.
After Congress refused last week
to continue U.S. covert-action funds
for the "contra" forces operating
against Nicaragua, there were re-
ports that the Reagan administra-
tion might try to enlist a third party
such as Israel or Saudi Arabia to
help finance and direct the guerrilla
campaign.
"The United States has no inten-
tion of using third countries to fi-
nance covert action in Central Amer-
ica," State Department spokesman
John Hughes said yesterday. Both
Saudi Arabia and Israel also have
said publicly that they do not want
to become involved in Central Amer-
ica's military conflicts.
U.S. and Israeli officials said pri-
vately that Israeli technical assist-
ance to Central America was expect-
ed ; to come up in talks here next
week between Lawrence S. Eaglebur-
ger, undersecretary of state for po-
litical affairs, and David Kimche,
director general of the Israeli For-
eign Ministry.
But that subject has been dis-
cussed in each of Eagleburger and
Kimche's periodic meetings in recent
months, the officials stressed. They
added that the inconclusive talks
had centered on how Israel, which is
gripped by a severe financial crisis,
might find funds to expand its tech-
nical aid in areas such as agriculture
and health.
In the past, thactivities have
been of great value to Israel in win-
ning the good will of many Third
World countries, particularly in Af-
rica, where the Jewish state has con-
centrated its aid efforts. The Israelis
have given only scant attention to
Central Americk.?providing - some -
veilflTedlifojeCts in El Salvador,-
Honduras, Guatemala and Costa
Rica.
However, Israeli officials acknowl-
edged, that situation has changed
somewhat by El Salvador's moving
its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jeni-
' salem. The Reagan administration,
, concerned about hostile Arab mac-
tion, has strenuously resisted a con-
gressional bid to mandate a shift of
the U.S. Embassy to the disputed,
holy city.
The officials said Israel would like
to show its appreciation to El Sal-
vador by providing it with greater
technical assistance; and, while they
stressed that their talks with the Sal-
vadorans had been independent of
the United States, they noted that
Washington was likely to approve of
any efforts that would strengthen
the U.S.-supported Salvadoran gov-
ernment.
As a result, the officials continued,
Kimche hopes to discuss the chances
for U.S. help in creating a fund, ei-
ther from official or private U.S.
sources, that would increase the
number of Israeli technical advisers
in areas such as Africa and Central
America.
Until now, the officials said, the
United States has been noncommit-
tal; they added that they did not
know whether Israel's offer to do
more in El Salvador would change
the U.S. position.
1
In any case, the Israelis insisted,
Kimche's talks will be limited to
technical aid. Even if the adminis-
tration were to ask for help with co-
vert action, the officials said, the Is-
raeli government believes that get-
ting involved in Central American
military and intelligence activities
would put it in a no-win situation.
They noted that many American
liberals were very critical of Israel's
sale of arms to the late Nicaraguan
dictator, Anastasio Somoza, during
the civil war that brought the San-
dinistas to power.
Now, they added, Israel does not
want to get caught in a position
where it might be seen as taking
sides between the administration
and its congressional critics, many of
whom are among Israel's staunchest
itipporteri in Congress.
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/10/04 : CIA-RDP90-00965R000302450012-8