Proposal to forgive Egypt's foreign military sales debt. (statement of Deputy Secretary Lawrence Eagleburger to House Appropriations Subcommittee on Foreign Relations, includes profile of Egypt) (transcript)

Proposal To Forgive Egypt's Foreign Military Sales Debt

Deputy Secretary Eagleburger

Statement before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Foreign Relations, Washington, DC, September 19,1990

Under Secretary [of the Treasury David] Mulford and I are here today before you and the members of the Foreign Operations Subcommittee to support the President's proposal to forgive Egypt's foreign military sales (FMS) debt, a major component of the "Desert Shield" appropriation request that was sent to the Congress last Friday.

When Saddam Hussein's forces invaded Kuwait in the early days of August, Iraq violated the sovereignty of a small, virtually defenseless nation. His actions violated accepted standards of international conduct and posed a preeminent threat to the hopeful, but as yet fragile, world order which is emerging in the wake of the Cold War. Saddam Hussein also threatened the vital interests of the United States and the rest of the world by seeking a stranglehold over a major share of an energy source which is critical to economic growth and development, not only in the industrialized nations but in the developing world as well.

As Secretary Baker noted before Congress 2 weeks ago, Iraq's unprovoked aggression is a political test of how the post-Cold War world will work. And the world has responded to Saddam Hussein's aggression with unprecedented unity and resolve. The UN Security Council has passed even resolutions condemning Saddam's illegal occupation of Kuwait and imposing economic sanctions. In addition to the United States, over 20 nations have ocntributed either troops, direct financial support, or humanitarian assistance to the region--nations that range from the United Kingdom and France to Korea; from Japan to Australia; from Bangladesh to Syria to Canada. While Saddam Hussein would like to portray the current crisis as a fight with the …