Reagan Picks Counselor for Iran Inquiries : NATO Envoy Abshire to Handle Responses in Arms Deal Probes

President Reagan, facing multiple probes by Congress and an independent counsel of the Iran- contra scandal, on Friday appointed David M. Abshire, retiring ambassador to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, to coordinate White House responses to the investigations.

Abshire, who has never worked in the White House, will report directly to the President, bypassing Chief of Staff Donald T. Regan.

Regan has become entangled in the controversy over the Administration’s secret arms sales to Iran and the subsequent diversion of profits to the Nicaraguan contras. He has told congressional committees that he knew about the arms sales but was not aware of the diversion of funds.

Will Have Cabinet Rank

A White House announcement said that Abshire will be a special counselor to the President, a title that will give him Cabinet rank. “He will head a team that will coordinate White House activities in all aspects of the Iran matter,” the announcement said.

Some members of Congress have suggested that Regan should step down or be dismissed in the wake of the Iran-contra disclosures. But Regan has vowed to remain on the job, and the President has not indicated that he has any plans to replace him.

Patrick J. Buchanan, White House director of communications, called the new post a “detail job.” In an interview scheduled for broadcast today by Cable News Network, Buchanan said:

“What we wanted was someone who would come in and immerse himself in all details of this Iran controversy: the dates, when the arms went and who said what on which date. It really is a detail job, and the rest of the White House staff, which was not involved in the controversy, has got to get on with the State of the Union (message to the new Congress).”

‘The President’s Man’

Buchanan emphasized that Abshire will be “the President’s man” rather than an independent counsel or special prosecutor, the role for which retired federal Judge Lawrence E. Walsh has been chosen by a panel of federal judges.

In addition to Walsh’s probe, both houses of Congress have named select committees to focus on the Iran-contra affair. Congress will reconvene on Jan. 4, and Abshire’s appointment is effective Jan. 5.

Abshire, who was an adviser on national security matters for the Reagan transition team in 1980, was reported at the time to be a candidate for national security adviser to the President.

Abshire was again considered to be a candidate for the job when Vice Admiral John M. Poindexter resigned as national security adviser last month. Atty. Gen. Edwin Meese III reported that Poindexter knew of the diversion of money to the contras but did not tell the President. Reagan picked Frank C. Carlucci.

Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole (R-Kan.), who was among the first congressional leaders to call for complete disclosure by the White House, hailed Abshire’s appointment.

“David Abshire has what it takes, both the respect and the experience to be the President’s point man in the Iran affair,” Dole said in a statement. “He’s an excellent choice. Today’s announcement is yet another signal to Congress and to the American people that President Reagan is determined to stay on top of this controversy until it has been fully resolved.”

Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.), vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said: “It’s good that they’re going to have one person coordinating things, because virtually everything they need to know can be found out now at the White House.

“I hope they will use Mr. Abshire’s appointment to have as complete and as public a report as soon as possible,” he told the Associated Press.

‘Unexpected Call to Duty’

In a statement issued through the public affairs office of the U.S. mission to NATO in Brussels, Abshire said: “This is an unexpected call to duty that I could not do other than accept. I appreciate the President’s confidence. I’ve had a good conversation with him.”

Abshire’s statement added: “From my NATO vantage point, I, of course, especially appreciate how our President is the leader of the Free World. It is critical that these issues be resolved with bipartisan cooperation and to public satisfaction.”

Abshire, 60, has been U.S. representative on the Council of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization since 1983.

He is a veteran of the Washington scene and no stranger to the world of covert operations. He served as an assistant secretary of state for congressional liaison from 1970 to 1973, a period during which the Richard M. Nixon Administration conducted secret bombing raids against Cambodia, and Abshire had to placate congressional opponents of the action.

He was one of the founders in 1962 of the Center for Strategic Studies, a think tank started under the auspices of Georgetown University. He had announced his intention to return as president of the center before receiving the presidential appointment.

Replacement Named

The White House announcement said that Abshire “will continue with some NATO duties until his successor is confirmed.” The President has nominated Alton G. Keel Jr., currently acting national security adviser, to the NATO post.

Former Ambassador Robert G. Neumann, a Middle East expert at the think tank and a longtime Abshire colleague, described him to the Washington Post as “a moderate person, a conservative who is very politically astute,” with “a great deal of depth.”

In other difficult missions, Abshire enlisted European support for deployment of Pershing 2 and cruise missiles in Western Europe and subsequently sought allied support for U.S. sanctions against Libya. He won high ratings from the envoys of other NATO nations for providing regular briefings on the progress of U.S.-Soviet arms control talks.

Involved in Controversy

Abshire attracted unfavorable attention at home, however, when he joined 22 non-career U.S. ambassadors in endorsing ultraconservative Sen. Jesse Helms (R-N. C.) for reelection in 1984. Secretary of State George P. Shultz reprimanded the group, reminding them that “their first responsibility is to the nation and the execution of foreign policy.”

Abshire is a 1951 West Point graduate. He received a doctorate of philosophy at Georgetown University in 1959.