The 101st Congress: Already, An Arms Sale Imbroglio

By Dennis J. Wamsted

A cooperative, bipartisan spirit pervaded Washington through December and January, as both newly elected President George Bush and the 101st Congress attended to ceremonial and organizational endeavors. Notwithstanding this initial comity, three pro-Israel congressmen issued a blunt warning to the new president and his administration: Congress will oppose any new arms sale proposals to Saudi Arabia.

"We view with alarm ... the prospect of a new, divisive proposal to add our most offensive weapons systems to the already teeming Saudi arsenal," Reps. Mel Levine (D-CA), Lawrence Smith (D-FL), and Sen. Alan Cranston (D-CA) wrote President-elect Bush in December. "We do not believe that such arms requests are justified, especially so soon after Saudi Arabian arms purchases both from us and our allies." The three, who are among Israel's staunchest congressional supporters and who cooperate extensively with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), said that, "under present circumstances, we would take the lead in Congress to oppose actively an administration request to license export of such a major new Saudi arms package. We also do not believe that prompt consummation of such new military sales would advance the Middle East peace process or other vital US interests in the region," the three continued, adding that an early decision to propose an arms sale to the Saudis would lead to "a bitter battle" between Congress and the administration.

At the same time, the Saudis, a long-standing American customer, are back in the market for at least two advanced weapons systems, according to published reports. Among the weapons on the Saudis' purchase list: a new main battle tank and upward of 120 fighters to replace the kingdom's aging, US-built F-5 interceptor aircraft. The US-manufactured M-1 tank and either the F-16 or F-18 jet fighter would satisfy the Saudis' needs, according to industry officials. But it is unlikely the kingdom, still upset that sales "promised" by the Reagan administration but derailed by the Democratically controlled Congress, will formally request additional US weaponry unless it receives assurances from the new administration that the request will be approved by Congress.

Bush Facing Tough Choices

In short, the Bush administration will be forced to decide in the coming months whether to risk the ire of Israel's congressional supporters, perhaps even at the expense of some other administration program, by pushing ahead with a comprehensive Saudi arms proposal. On the other hand, if the administration bows to this congressional dictate, the US could easily lose a third multibillion dollar arms sale to the British, who have profited enormously from Congress's unabashed pro-Israel bias in the 1980s.

One thing is clear: The Saudis will purchase the weapons they desire, as they have repeatedly demonstrated by turning to Britain for advanced jet fighters after failing to secure the planes from the US. The only question, then, is whether the US, Britain, or some other country such as France will profit from the Saudis' military purchases.

Given the pervasive concern about the huge US trade deficit and America's international competitiveness—both issues that surfaced repeatedly in the 1988 elections—there is at least some reason to believe that President Bush will confront the pro-Israel coterie in Congress that has so misshapen US Middle Eastern policy over the past decade. A catalyst for action by the administration may be last summer's Saudi decision to purchase from Britain, after being rebuffed repeatedly by the US Congress, 120 Tornado jet fighters, 60 trainers, 50 battlefield helicopters, and two minesweepers.

The sale was recently valued at $68 billion by Saudi Arabia's deputy information minister, Fouad al-Farsy. The US Chamber of Commerce and the Pentagon have estimated that every billion dollars in US exports translates into 40,000 new American domestic jobs.

Carlucci Critical of One-Sided Mideast Policy

An undercurrent of opposition to the chokehold exercised over US Middle Eastern policy by pro-Israel congressmen, particularly with regard to arms sales to America's Arab allies, has existed for years both on Capitol Hill and within the executive branch. Rarely, however, is this opposition aired in public, which makes former Secretary of Defense Frank Carlucci's speech last fall before a group of US businessmen assembled by the American-Arab Affairs Council all the more intriguing.

"I see tens of billions of dollars worth of jobs going abroad instead of sustaining our key defense industries and bolstering the US economy," Carlucci said. "I see foreign soldiers on Jordanian and Saudi installations, providing training and maintenance assistance, where American servicemen have served until now. There can be no comfort in the knowledge that the US will meet increased difficulty in achieving the broad range of our foreign policy objectives in the region, as Arab states now turning to Soviet and other non-American sources of military advice and assistance become less receptive to American policy positions," the secretary continued. "We need a new sense of realism about the strategic purposes of our policies in the Middle East." Carlucci was particularly critical of "various interest groups" and a number of congressmen for their opposition to arms sales to US allies in the Arab world. "The notion that US defense cooperation with moderate Arab states poses a danger to Israel is ill-founded and untrue," he said. "Israel must regard non-American arms in the hands of its neighbors as a higher risk."

The secretary also dismissed a "truism" repeated by the pro-Israel lobby that the Arab countries are unwilling to coexist with Israel. "I am convinced that most Arab states are willing to live in peace with Israel, but are themselves continually threatened by radical forces in the region. That is why I believe that moderate Arab states must be strong enough to resist intimidation and take the bold steps to negotiate with Israel."

Carlucci's largely unreported speech is a the more important because he is expected to play a key, albeit informal, advisory role for incoming Defense Secretary John Tower. In addition, in December shortly before he left office, Carlucci toured the Persian Gulf for talks with leaders in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, and Bahrain, and reportedly discussed the possibility of US arms sales to the Arab states of the gulf in 1989.

Another Gulf Tour

Secretary Carlucci wasn't the only US official planning to tour the gulf during the two-month interregnum. Sen. Dennis DeConcini (D-AZ), one of the most vocal opponents of arms sales to the Arab countries, was scheduled to meet with officials in nine Arab countries and Israel in January. Interestingly, the Arizona Democrat, who was re-elected to a third term last November and who sits on the pivotal Senate Appropriations foreign operations subcommittee, which controls the US foreign aid program, wasn't planning to travel alone. In addition to his wife, DeConcini was to have been accompanied by Earl Katz, a Phoenix businessman who has been finance chairman of DeConcini's recent election campaign and who is active in pro-Israel affairs. When this reporter and other newsmen questioned the propriety of DeConcini's action in putting Katz on the Senate payroll temporarily to qualify him to travel on military aircraft, and then requesting a security clearance so that Katz could participate in secret embassy and military briefings, Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Robert Byrd (D-WV) withdrew his permission for the trip.

Dennis J. Wamsted is a free-lance writer specializing in the US Congress and Middle Eastern affairs.