Fulbright Finds Aid Falling

Press, Volume CVII, Issue 31498, 12 October 1967, Page 13

Fulbright Finds Aid Falling

(N.Z.P. A. -Reuter—Copyright)

WASHINGTON, October 11.

Senator William Fulbright, who has charged the United States with becoming isolated in the Vietnam war, last night said that aid from many friendly countries to South Vietnam had apparently dropped off this year.

He also disclosed in a Senate speech that he had, in the last few days, asked the United States Secretary of State, Mr Dean Rusk, “what commitments the United States Government has made to . . . Korea, Thailand and the Philippines in connection with the dispatch of forces by these three countries to South Vietnam.” The senator, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, offered figures submitted by the State Department in April 1967, and those submitted by two senators in October of this year, to claim that no new assistance to South Vietnam had been recorded since the end of 1966 from 16 countries.

They were Denmark, Ecuador, Greece, Guatemala, Honduras, Luxembourg, Malaysia, the Philippines, Spain, Turkey, Uruguay, Ireland, Israel,

Norway, Pakistan and Switzerland.

“In other words, there has apparently been no new material assistance given by these countries since December, 1966, at the latest, and in some cases it is obvious that the assistance was given before the end of 1966,” he said.

Even some of the assistance counted by the Department in the past was infinitestimal, he said, and some of it was just humanitarian relief. Senator Fulbright also said that he had asked Mr Rusk to provide him with the dollar value of assistance provided so far this year by Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Costa Rica, Denmark, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Greece, Guatemala, Honduras, Iran, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Laos, Luxembourg, Malayasia, Norway, Pakistan, Spain, Switzerland, Tunisia, Turkey, Uruguay, and Venezuela. These wer e listed on October 5 by Senator John Tower as being contributors under the free world assistance programme to Vietnam along with 10 other countries. Senator Fulbright also asked the Secretary of State to tell him which countries aiding South Vietnam also traded with North Vietnam, and the amount of that trade.