COUNTYWIDE : Lagomarsino Sees Hope in Middle East

A bloodless resolution of the Middle East crisis could herald a new stage of international cooperation and global peace, Rep. Robert J. Lagomarsino (R-Ventura) said Saturday after returning from a five-day trip to the area.

Lagomarsino, traveling as a senior member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, met with top Israeli government officials Thursday and Friday following earlier visits with U.S. troops in Saudi Arabia and with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

Israeli and Arab leaders “believe there is a much better chance after this is reconciled to reach full agreement on the Middle East,” Lagomarsino said Saturday in a telephone interview from Washington D.C. “A lot of them privately talk about what can happen later.”

Soviet support for the Jan. 15 deadline for Iraqi President Saddam Hussein to withdraw his troops from Kuwait also shows unprecedented unity, Lagomarsino said.

“If the Soviets did not agree to go along with the U.N. resolutions, I doubt we would be able to put that kind of force in the field there and move our tanks out of Europe,” Lagomarsino said. “Hussein probably would have gotten away with this two years ago, at least for the short term.”

Lagomarsino said Israeli officials stressed that recent events proved them right about Saddam Hussein. The Israeli government sought to contain Hussein when it acted as a middleman in the arms-for-hostages swap with Iran.

“They’ve known for a long time that he’s no good and is one of their most severe enemies,” Lagomarsino said. “They were willing to help the Iranians fight this guy because they felt he was a bigger threat than anything.”

A trip by Secretary of State James M. Baker III to Baghdad may offer the greatest chance yet for a resolution of the international standoff, Lagomarsino said.

“For Hussein to face a very high-ranking U.S. government official and be told we’re not kidding would have to register with him,” said Lagomarsino, adding that President Bush should call for a vote of Congress on whether its members support the Jan. 15 deadline.