Diary Entry - 06/11/1981

I feel like I’ve spent the day in the U.N. The morning was pretty well taken with a labor leader meeting—those leaders who support our Ec. program. Then it was the Ec. Advisory Council. Art Laffer dropped a grenade on his colleagues when he said we weren’t going to solve the fiscal program until we returned to convertibility of money for gold. I would like to have heard the discussion among those economists after I left. Then after lunch the U.N. phase started; 5 Arab St. Ambassadors, followed by the Israeli Amb. The 5 of course protested we hadn’t been hard enough on Israel. The Israeli deplored the harsh action we’d taken. I told all of them our goal was peace in the middle east. The bombing was the result of the suspicions & hostilities that exist there. We are going to keep on trying to bring peace to Lebanon & then between Arabs & Israelis. The truth is the Arab indignation on behalf of Iraq is a waste. Saddam Hussein is a “no good nut” and I think he was trying to build a nuclear weapon. He has called for the destruction of Israel & he wants to be the leader of the Arab world—that’s why he invaded Iran. At 5:30 a W.H. reception for all manner of support leaders for our Ec. pckg. After dinner—to the Marine Barracks for the ceremony they put on. It was thrilling & inspiring. I wish all America could see it.