Saudis Drop Stingers Order to Get Arms Sale Approved : Congress Balk Brings Altered Plan

Saudi Arabia today agreed to withdraw 800 advanced Stinger missiles from a controversial $354-million U.S. arms purchase in a effort to win congressional approval of the rest of the 2,600-missile sale and avoid a damaging defeat for President Reagan, Senate Republicans said.

Sen. John W. Warner (R-Va.) told reporters after a closed-door Capitol Hill meeting with Secretary of State George P. Shultz that Saudi Ambassador Prince Bandar ibn Sultan told Reagan this morning that his country was willing to drop the $89-million Stinger part of the sale.

The shoulder-fired Stingers, which critics claim could become terrorist weapons if they fell into the wrong hands, were a major source of opposition to the arms package. The sale also includes anti-ship Harpoon and Sidewinder air-to-air missiles.

Warner said the plan is for Reagan to send Congress a letter promising not to go ahead with the Stinger part of the package, although approval for those weapons would technically remain part of the sale.

3 Considering Proposal

It was difficult to tell how many votes were changed.

Three Republican senators who voted against the sale--Chic Hecht of Nevada, William S. Cohen of Maine and Warren B. Rudman of New Hampshire--said after the luncheon that they were considering the latest proposal but hadn’t yet decided.

But Warner told reporters, “I think the momentum is with the President.”

Reagan, who has until midnight Wednesday to veto a congressional resolution of disapproval against the $354-million missile sale, declined to comment on the matter during a pair of White House appearances today.

To Meet Jewish Leaders

Reagan was to meet late this afternoon with about 12 Jewish leaders to explain why the Administration believes that it is essential to sell weapons to Saudi Arabia, which officially is still in a state of war with Israel. The White House said that about 35 Jewish officials had been invited but that only about a third would attend.

Supporters of the sale say it will get an important boost if Jewish leaders signal that they will not retaliate politically against lawmakers voting for the package.

Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole of Kansas said Jewish leaders “would prefer not to sell any arms at all to the Saudis, I guess. But they also realize that we can’t be isolated to the extent that we talk only with the Israelis and deal only with the Israelis in the Middle East, or we’ll never have a peace settlement.”

Dole tried to be optimistic about the Adminstration’s progress in Congress, saying he thinks some votes are being switched, but he did not give details.

‘Plainly Have Them Licked’

Sen. Alan Cranston (D-Calif.), leader of the Senate opposition, said earlier today: “I’ve heard that they’re thinking of dropping the Stingers from the package. We plainly have them licked on the full package.”

“Dropping the Stingers makes the package more palatable, but I’m still against it,” he said. “Certainly, it will be tougher to defeat the White House if the Stingers aren’t in the package.”