Mideast Arms Aid: The Budget

Two nations of the Middle East will once again dominate the U.S. security assistance program proposed under the Reagan Administration's fiscal 1984 budget request unveiled in early February.

Of a total $9.143 billion in security aid the U.S. Administration is proposing to provide for the fiscal year beginning on October 1, 1983, Israel and Egypt alone would receive combined U.S. military assistance of $4.537 billion.

The overall U.S. security assistance program consists of foreign military sales (FMS), which are either in the form of "forgiven" loans or loan guarantees; economic support funds (ESF), which can be in either grant or loan form; military assistance program (MAP) grants for equipment and construction services; and grants for international military education and training (IMET).

Total U.S. aid proposed for Israel in fiscal 1984 remains the same as the fiscal 1983 level of $2.485 billion, but the Administration has suggested switching the mix of grants and loans. The fiscal 1984 budget request proposes a cut in the grant portion of military aid from $750 million in the current fiscal year to $550 million in the next.

The Administration had recommended $500 million in "forgiven" credits for Israel in 1983, but Congress boosted this amount by another $250 million to $750 million in a catch-all funding bill adopted in December at the close of the 97th Congress, despite Administration objections.

The economic support portion of the security assistance proposed for Israel in fiscal 1984 matches this year's level of $785 million. Israel's backers on Capitol Hill have taken note of the Administration's apparent willingness to sell fighter aircraft and defense systems to Jordan, and some Congressmen are already preparing to back supplementary requests for increased aid to Israel.

If the Reagan aid package is approved by Congress, U.S. military assistance to Egypt under the FMS program will dip slightly from this year's level of $1.325 billion to $1.3 billion in 1984. Of that amount, the Administration is requesting $450 million in grant aid and $850 million in loan guarantees, which compares with $425 million and $900 million respectively for the current fiscal year.

Economic support funds for Egypt under the security assistance program in 1984 will remain at the current year's level of $750 million if the Reagan proposals are approved. In the budget request is a warning that "any reductions in the Egyptian program would severely impact its five-year force modernization program, the strategic relation we are building with Egypt, its ability to support other friends, and its moderate political leadership in the area."

In addition to his budget requests for fiscal 1984 President Reagan also submitted to Congress a $962.5 million supplemental bill for the remainder of fiscal 1983. Lebanon is slated to receive a sizeable portion of the additional money, some $241 million, which U.S. officials say would be "a one shot deal to re-equip the Lebanese armed forces and reassert Lebanese control over the war-ravaged country."

On page five is a chart showing the Administration's aid requests for Middle East countries for fiscal 1984—as well as the supplemental funds he is seeking for the remainder of this fiscal year.