Dr. Gruen
12/1/80
A factual question in re US bases in Mid East
I was interested to see your piece on the NY Times op-Ed page, esp. in re RW Tucker's article in Commentary (11/80).
It has seemed to me obvious for at least the last 10 years that a U.S. military base in or near Israeli territory was a sine qua non of future stability in the area.
In point of fact, do you know whether any Israeli govt., at any time, has indicated its amenability to such base privileges on Israeli territory -- to leave aside a variety of reasons why the U.S. might hesitate?
As to Arab objections, the U.S. might well make a symmetrical offer to Egypt and Saudi Arabia, which could shift the onus on them to accept or refuse. They could well complain that the entire process attracts the urgent presence [?] of the USSR -- as does also their weakness!
for chron file Gruen.