To: Sojourner Smith who wrote (8523 ) 4/12/2003 1:33:22 AM From: craig crawford Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 21614 >> why did they give back the Sinai? << well let us defer to a conversation between patrick j buchanan of msnbc and morton klein, president of the zionist organization of america. Buchanan and Press’ for Dec. 2 BUCHANAN: But, Mr. Klein, look. We have given them $100 billion. We have given Egypt $50 billion. We give Egypt $50 billion, I guess, to keep the peace. But why should the United States give all this money to Israel? KLEIN: The reason, Israel did not receive very little aid until... (CROSSTALK) KLEIN: I’m going to answer you-until after the Camp David accords. Israel gave up four oil wells that produced $2 billion a year in income that they developed in the Sinai. And they said, we can’t give this up. And Jimmy Carter said, we will make up the losses of your income through those oil wells if you do it. That’s when we started getting the aid, is to make up the money lost from the oil that Israel developed in the Sinai. Otherwise, Israel would not be getting this aid. BUCHANAN: But those weren’t Israel’s wells. They were Egyptians’ wells. They had them for a while. They exploited them. They had to give them back. KLEIN: Egypt invaded Israel in 1967. And so did Jordan. BUCHANAN: Invaded? KLEIN: Yes. BUCHANAN: Are you kidding? I was there. Israel destroyed five air forces on the ground, starting the war. KLEIN: Only after they closed the Straits of Tiran and the Suez Canal, which is against international law. It is a state of belligerency that they caused. And then Jordan... BUCHANAN: Who started the war? KLEIN: By closing the Straits of Tiran and the Suez Canal... BUCHANAN: Who started the war? KLEIN: ... that is an act of belligerency. That started the war. That started the war. (CROSSTALK) BUCHANAN: The airstrikes didn’t? KLEIN: Jordan invaded Israel in ’67. They begged Jordan not to invade. If they hadn’t invaded, Israel would not be... BUCHANAN: Mr. Klein, we will have you back again. Thank you very much, sir.