Congress Will Restrict Gulf Moves, Aspin Says : Democrats to Push Guidelines for Providing Navy Escorts for Kuwaiti Tankers, He Asserts

The Democratic-controlled Congress will approve President Reagan’s plan to provide naval escorts to Kuwaiti oil tankers in the Persian Gulf, but not without imposing tight restrictions on the operation, the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee said Sunday.

Rep. Les Aspin (D-Wis.), appearing on CBS’ “Face the Nation,” said the exact terms of the Democrats’ position will be announced later this week after a meeting of the House and Senate leadership. Leaders of both chambers have previously expressed strong opposition to the plan.

Although many members of Congress still fear that escorting the Kuwaiti tankers will lead the United States into a direct confrontation with Iran, Aspin said Democratic leaders do not believe that they can wholeheartedly approve or disapprove of the President’s plan.

Congressional opponents of the plan, under which 11 Kuwaiti tankers are to be re-registered to fly the American flag, have proposed resolutions that would either prohibit the move or invoke the War Powers Act, which requires congressional approval for putting U.S. forces in a combat area for more than 90 days.

“Congress has been put in, I think, a very tough position,” said Aspin, who has been one of the most vocal critics of the escort plan. “A vote to go ahead with the reflagging carries a lot of risk, and a vote against the reflagging, pulling the Administration back from the reflagging, I think carries enormous risk, too, of Iranian terrorist actions. . . . So, in a sense, the two obvious options--yes and no--are not very good.”

As a result, Aspin predicted that the resolution put forth by the Democratic leadership will seek to chart a middle course, perhaps imposing a time limit on the naval escorts. He did not specify how long a time limit was being considered by the Democrats.

In addition, Aspin said, the Democrats’ resolution may require the Administration to obtain the cooperation of U.S. allies that rely heavily on the Persian Gulf for their oil, saying in effect: “You can go ahead with this, provided you have some kind of participation of the allies.” The United States receives less than 7% of its oil from the region.

The Administration’s escort plan is designed to underscore its commitment to keeping open international sea lanes in the gulf. Democrats and many Republicans have accused Reagan of failing to give adequate consideration to the risk that the plan might draw the United States into a military conflict in the region, where Iran and Iraq have been at war for nearly seven years.

Aspin endorsed Administration efforts to involve the Soviet Union and other members of the U.N. Security Council in drafting a peace plan to end the gulf war. “I think Congress would give full-hearted support to anything that would . . . increase the chances of ending that war and working with the Soviets or working with anybody,” he said.

Such a peace initiative has been discussed for the last several months. But Under Secretary of State Michael H. Armacost, also appearing on the program, said the Administration has been surprised that all of the permanent members of the Security Council are supporting a resolution calling for a cease-fire, a return to boundaries and exchange of prisoners.

“The question now is whether we can negotiate agreement on mandatory sanctions,” he said.

“I think we share, at least temporarily, an interest in the region, an interest in preventing an Iranian victory in the gulf war,” Armacost said. “ . . . I don’t think they (the Soviets) wish to see a war which could end with Iran prevailing, with the stimulus that it gives to Islamic fundamentalism and the threat it poses to their own Muslim population.”

In an interview before his appearance on the program, Aspin also raised the possibility that Congress would call on the Administration to seek U.N. approval for the reflagging operation.

Although Administration officials have hinted that the reflagging might not begin as early as expected, Armacost said that “at the present time, we expect to go into business (with the reflagging operation) in early July.”