Word: 15s
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...Senate last week, the culmination of a month-long battle over Jimmy Carter's plans to sell 60 F-15 fighters, which are among the world's most advanced interceptors, to Saudi Arabia and 50 less sophisticated F-5Es to Egypt, as well as 35 F-15s and 75 F-16s to Israel. Then, after a subdued roll call that took only 15 minutes, the outcome was official: by 54 to 44, the Senate sided with the President...
...alternative, shutting off the Egyptians and Saudis, was worse. Administration officials felt there was an excellent chance of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat's being overthrown if Washington did not back his portion of the plane agreement. They were also sure that rejection of the Saudi F-15s would have lost the U.S. considerable Saudi support...
...scarcely change the military balance of power in the Middle East, a view also expressed by Egyptian officials. Said one Egyptian political leader: "By the time we get the F-5E and have our pilots trained to use it, the craft will be obsolete. Meanwhile, Israel is getting F-15s and F-16s that it can use immediately. Who really won?" The Saudis will also receive F-15s, but a former top Egyptian official noted, "It will be another decade before Saudi pilots will be flying their F-15s effectively...
...Each proposal has to come up separately. If that is done by the President, and we can work out something along the lines Baker suggested, I'd be willing to publicly state in the Foreign Relations Committee that we are for the sale of the F-15s to Saudi Arabia in the national interest." "So would I," said Javits...
...Saudi drive also included full-page ads in U.S. newspapers, glossy multipage displays in magazines and 15-page memos sent to all Senators to explain just why Saudi Arabia wanted the F-15s. On the day of the vote Cook got in touch with some 200 influential businessmen and asked them to telephone Senators they thought might still be undecided...