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Ronald Reagan Administration: 12th Message to Congress on the U.S. Sinai Support Mission

(October 20, 1981)

I am pleased to transmit herewith the Twelfth Report of the United States Sinai Support Mission. It covers the Mission's activities during the six-month period ending October 1, 1981. This report is provided in accordance with Section 4 of Public Law 94-110 of October 13, 1975.

The Sinai Support Mission and its overseas arm, the Sinai Field Mission, have since 1976 made unique contributions to the peace process in that part of the Middle East, first by establishing and operating the tactical early warning system that made possible the second disengagement agreement between Egypt and Israel, and when that mission was successfully completed in January 1980, by undertaking during the interim withdrawal period the verification of Egyptian and Israeli adherence to the military limitations called for in their 1979 Peace Treaty.

This second peacekeeping role will end on April 25, 1982, the date established under the Treaty for the completion of Israeli withdrawal from the Sinai. At that time, the Sinai Field Mission will relinquish its verification responsibilities to the new Multinational Force and Observers being established to supervise implementation of the Treaty's security arrangements after Israel's withdrawal.

Funding for the Sinai Support Mission for Fiscal Year 1981 was authorized at $16 million. Only $10 million is being requested for Fiscal Year 1982, a level that will fund the Mission's operations during its final months and the projected costs of its phase out after April 25, 1982.

The role of the Sinai Support and Field Missions has been a concrete example of the United States' commitment to the achievement of a just and lasting peace in the Middle East. Our participation in the Multinational Force and Observers will be the next crucial step in the further promotion of that peace. I am counting on the continuing support of the Congress for our role in the peace process.

RONALD REAGAN
The White House,
October 20, 1981.


Sources: Public Papers of the President