Ninth Message to Congress
Transmitting a Report on U.S. Sinai Support Mission
(April 16, 1980)
To the Congress of the United States:
I am pleased to transmit herewith the Ninth Report
of the United States Sinai Support Mission. It covers the Mission's
activities during the six-month period ending April 1, 1980. This Report
is provided to the Congress in conformity with Section 4 of Public Law
94-110 of October 13, 1975.
The Peace Treaty that Egypt and Israel signed in Washington
on March 26, 1979, called for the United States to continue its monitoring
responsibilities in the Sinai until January 25, 1980, when Israeli armed
forces withdrew from areas east of the Giddi and Mitla Passes. This
mission was completed on schedule and to the satisfaction of all parties.
Trilateral talks in Washington in the fall of 1979
resulted in an ad referendum agreement that the United States, using
the Sinai Field Mission, would verify certain military constraints—specified
in Annex I of the Treaty—in the area of the Sinai west of the
interim Buffer Zone. Subsequent negotiations among the three parties
will, when completed, specify the details of this agreement. Administration
officials have been in touch with appropriate Congressional committees
on various aspects of this United States undertaking and will provide
Congress with all agreements and understandings to which the United
States is a party, as soon as they become available.
This year's funding of the Sinai Support Mission is
authorized under Chapter 6, Part II of the Foreign Assistance Act, "Peacekeeping
Operations." At my request, the Congress restored $6 million of
the Sinai Support Mission funds for FY1980, to cover anticipated outlays
associated with the new United States task in the Sinai. In addition,
I approved a request for an additional $3.9 million to provide the Sinai
Field Mission with the use of aircraft to carry out its verification
assignment. Appropriate notices have been submitted to Congress regarding
the proposed transfer of funds.
The American peacekeeping initiative in the Sinai has
been a highly successful one to date. I urge the Congress to continue
its support for this Mission as part of the larger United States effort
to promote a permanent peace in the Middle East.
JIMMY CARTER
The White House,
April 16, 1980.
Sources: Public Papers of the President |