U.S. Plans Jordan-Saudi Arms Sales : Jet and Missile Deal Bitterly Opposed by Supporters of Israel

The Reagan Administration has decided to sell jet warplanes and advanced anti-aircraft missiles to Jordan and Saudi Arabia and will notify Congress of its plan soon, despite the bitter opposition of pro-Israel lawmakers, Administration and congressional sources said Thursday.

Jordan and Saudi Arabia placed orders for F-15 and F-16 aircraft and air defense missiles last year, but the sales were held up while the Administration conducted a comprehensive study of the military balance in the Middle East. The study was completed in July and the report was sent to Capitol Hill just before the start of Congress’ summer recess.

Although the report was classified, sources who have seen it said it concludes that Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the smaller countries of the Persian Gulf region lack the military power to cope with potential armed threats.

Regional Superiority

Israel, on the other hand, was found to be so strong militarily that its regional superiority would not be upset by arms sales to Amman and Riyadh.

The sources said the report also relates that Saudi Arabia has informed the United States that it will allow American troops to use Saudi bases in case of a Soviet attack or any other Persian Gulf crisis that the kingdom’s own forces cannot handle.

State Department spokesman Bernard Kalb said that “a number of programs which have been on hold” pending completion of the study will “go forward shortly.” He declined to say which countries were involved, but other sources said the package includes the Jordan and Saudi Arabia sales. Asked when the measure would be sent to Congress, which could block the arms sale, Kalb said he could not give a specific date “other than to emphasize the word ‘shortly.’ ”

Angry Reaction

California Rep. Tom Lantos (D-San Mateo), a member of the House Foreign Affairs subcommittee on Europe and the Middle East and a strong supporter of Israel, reacted angrily to the report.

“I will oppose it, and the majority of my colleagues will oppose it,” he said in a telephone interview. “The Saudis are in no need of an arms sale; the Jordanians are in no need of an arms sale. I still very much hope that the good judgment of (Secretary of State) George Shultz in the final analysis will prevail against the professional Arabists in the State Department.”

Lantos scoffed at the reported Saudi offer of bases in the event of crisis.

“It is important to realize that this is in their own national interest,” he said. “If the Soviets or some other strong force attacks them, they had better let us use their bases, because they will not be able to defend themselves by themselves. This is a PR puff.”

Kalb declined to discuss the details of the secret report, but he said the United States and Saudi Arabia “have longstanding relationships based on mutual interest.”

He said Saudi Arabia already has sought and received short-term military assistance to deal with specific threats. In such cases, he said, “the facilities necessary to support such assistance have been made available.”

As an example, he said, Saudi Arabia provided base facilities for U.S. AWACS reconnaissance aircraft at the time of the outbreak of the Iran-Iraq war. The airborne warning and control system planes, operated by U.S. crews, used Saudi bases for several weeks. Saudi Arabia later purchased AWACS planes for use by its own air force.

No Formal Pact

The Administration’s Middle East arms study says that the Saudis refused to sign a formal base agreement but offered assurances that they would make facilities available to U.S. forces in the event of a crisis they were unable to handle on their own. This does not seem to go beyond the “long-standing relationship” described by Kalb, but the mere fact that it was put in writing by the United States may cause embarrassment in Riyadh.

In the past, Saudi Arabia has insisted that such understandings be kept on an informal basis in an effort to avoid entanglement in East-West disputes. Although the Saudis depend on the United States for military support, they are reluctant to antagonize the Soviet Union. One senior Saudi official is fond of saying that the kingdom likes to have U.S. power deployed “just over the horizon.”

The United States has no permanent bases in the Middle East, although Oman, Israel and Egypt have offered to be helpful in time of crisis.

Congressional supporters of Israel say they oppose arms sales to Jordan, Saudi Arabia and other Arab states that have not signed a formal peace treaty with Israel. If Congress takes no action on the package proposed by the Administration, the sale can be completed.

Although the Israel-Jordan border has been quiet for the last 15 years, tensions have increased sharply this year since the rapprochement between Jordan’s King Hussein and Palestine Liberation Organization chief Yasser Arafat.

The sale to Jordan is expected to include three kinds of anti-aircraft weapons--improved Hawk ground-to-air missiles, Stinger shoulder-fired ground-to-air missiles and Sidewinder air-to-air missiles, United Press International reported it was told by Capitol Hill sources. The Jordan package could include either the F-16C or F-20A fighter-bombers.

The Saudi package would include F-15 aircraft, Sidewinder missiles, M-1 tanks and the M-2 Bradley armored vehicle, UPI said.