Senators force delay to plane sale

Press, 25 October 1985, Page 6

Senators force delay to plane sale

NZPA-AP Washington

The President of the United States, Mr Ronald Reagan, bowed yesterday to overwhelming pressure in a Senate controlled by his own Republican Party and agreed to delay until March 1 his projected ?USI.9 billion arms sale to Jordan.

Congressional sources said that Mr Reagan had relayed his position to Senate Republican leaders, who had informed the Administration that they would move on their own to sidetrack the unpopular sale unless Jordan and Israel began peace talks. His plan to sell combat aircraft, air-defence missiles, and other arms to Jordan faces strong opposition from Israel and the pro-Israel lobby in Washington, which has been gearing up to fight it for two years.

Only last week, the Secretary of State, Mr George Shultz, rejected a request from Senate Republican leaders to delay his formal

notification of the sale. Mr Reagan formally notified Congress on Tuesday of his intention to make the sale. More than 70 senators oppose the Administration’s proposal to make the sale unconditionally. One senator said that the President would have taken a “thrashing” if the issue had gone to a vote. A Republican senator, Richard Lugar, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said that he expected the full Senate to approve the temporary ban on the sale today. The legislation would preserve the President’s option to sell arms to Jordan later and give opponents of the sale assurances that it would not go ahead unless King Hussein of Jordan began “direct and meaningful peace negotiations” with Israel, he said. It was also “keeping the peace process going without a negative vote,” which could have discouraged or embarrassed King Hussein,

who has said that he is willing to negotiate with Israel.

Several senators say that they do not want their opposition to the arms sale to be an insult to the King, but also do not want to provide arms to a country at war with Israel.

Congress did approve nearly SUS2SO million in non-military aid for Jordan earlier this year. The Reagan Administration sought the arms for King Hussein to reward a leader who is willing to take the “risks of peace,” Mr Shultz has told Congressional committees in recent weeks.

The Reagan Administration says that Jordan needs arms to defend itself against possible attacks by Arab countries opposed to peace with Israel, especially Syria.

Administration officials add that King Hussein may turn to other arms vendors, including the Soviet Union, if Congress rejects Mr Reagan’s request.