Kohl Drawing Fresh Fire--Over Jet Sale to Jordan

Chancellor Helmut Kohl, already reeling from a scandal over West German involvement in a Libyan chemical plant, came under fire Friday for West Germany’s role in selling warplanes to Jordan.

Oppositon members of the Bundestag (the lower house of Parliament) and Jewish leaders criticized the Kohl government for approving $200 million in credits for Jordan to buy Tornado fighter-bombers.

The Tornado is manufactured by a consortium of West German, British and Italian companies as the Atlantic Alliance’s front-line attack aircraft.

The deal with Jordan was arranged by the British, but the West German government gave its approval for a Bavarian bank to offer Jordan the credits with which to buy the aircraft.

In parliamentary debate Friday, members of the Social Democratic and Greens parties objected to the sale, and pointed out that West German law forbids arms sales to countries in “areas of conflict.”

Alfred Mechtersheimer, a member of the Greens, a radical-environmental party, said the government is overly protective of the weapons industry.

“This government,” he said, “has turned into a club of marionettes for the arms industry.”

Different Situation

Outside the Bundestag, Heinz Galinski, chairman of the Central Council of German Jews, said that West Germany should not sell armaments to the adversaries of Israel.

“For West Germany,” he said, “the situation is different from that of other countries. You can’t brush aside the past.”

Several members of the Bundestag said the Kohl government should have learned to be more careful about arms exports as a result of the outcry over West German companies providing material for suspected chemical weapons plants in Iraq and Libya.

The financing was defended by Kohl’s chief of staff, Wolfgang Schaeuble, who told the Bundestag that “Jordan’s contribution to stability and peace in the Middle East is considerable.”

British Aerospace organized the sale of eight Tornados to Jordan after Washington indicated that U.S. aircraft exports to Jordan might be blocked by Congress.

West German sources said the U.S. government had quietly backed the European sale of Tornados to Jordan because King Hussein might otherwise turn to the Soviet Union for military jets.

The Israeli ambassador to Bonn denied statements by West German officials that Jerusalem had privately said it had no objections to the aircraft purchase by Jordan.

The aircraft incident broadened a widening rift in the government between Chancellor Kohl and Foreign Minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher.

TORNADO FIGHTER-BOMBERS SOLD TO JORDAN

Tornado fighter-bomber is built by consortium of West German, British and Italian firms.

Fixed armament comprises two 27-millimeter cannon with 180 rounds per gun. Plane can be modified to carry two Sidewinder missiles.

Tornado has a combat radius of 863 miles.

Jordan has agreed to buy 8 Tornados.

SOURCE: Jane’s All the World’s Aircraft