U.S. Supplying Chad With Stingers and Trainers

The Reagan Administration said Friday that the United States is supplying Stinger anti-aircraft missiles to Chad in what is described as an effort to help the African country defend itself against Libya.

A Pentagon spokesman said small teams of American military personnel are also being sent to Chad to help provide training in use of the Stingers. He refused to provide any details on the size of these training teams but said they will remain in Chad only a short time, from “a couple of days to a couple of weeks.”

Precautions Taken

The Stingers are shoulder-fired, heat-seeking missiles that have proved extremely effective and accurate. However, because the missiles are so small and light, they also have raised security problems.

In the Persian Gulf, equipment for firing Stingers was found in an Iranian boat seized by U.S. forces. American officials believe the Iranians took Stinger missiles from an Afghan guerrilla column that strayed into eastern Iran. The United States has been supplying Stingers to the Afghan resistance forces.

Last month, the Reagan Administration was forced to withdraw Stingers from an arms package for Saudi Arabia because some congressmen said they were worried that the missiles might be used against Israel.

U.S. officials emphasized Friday that special efforts are being made to ensure that the Stingers sent to Chad do not fall into Libyan hands.

“The necessary security precautions are being taken,” State Department spokesman Charles Redman said. He and Pentagon officials declined to say exactly how many Stingers the United States will sell to Chad or what the dollar value of the arms deal will be.

Chad has been trying to oust Libyan forces from a disputed area known as the Aozou Strip along the border between Chad and Libya. In the past, Chad obtained most of its military support from France, but more recently the United States has begun to play a more active role.

‘Different Policies’

“The United States and France have different policies in Chad,” said one analyst, Dr. Mary Jane Deeb, a Washington scholar who has written two books about Libya. “France is more interested in bringing about a dialogue, but the United States is more interested in pushing the Libyans out by force.”

The United States provided $15 million in emergency military aid to Chad in September, 1986, and another $10 million last spring. It also provided $9 million in regular military aid and $12 million in economic aid this year.

Redman said the aim in supplying the Stingers is “to provide a defensive weapons system to people who need it in order to deter and act against outside aggression.” Both he and a State Department spokesman indicated that the Administration’s decision to supply the Stingers to Chad was made about two months ago but was not officially acknowledged until Friday.

Meanwhile Friday, the United States sent official congratulations to the French government for its reported seizure last weekend of 150 tons of arms, allegedly originating in Libya and bound for the Irish Republican Army. “We can only deplore, again, this latest in a long line of examples of Libya’s disregard for accepted international values and norms,” Redman said.