King Hussein of Jordan had a 45-minute meeting today with Foreign Secretary George Brown arranged, according to official British sources, at the king’s request. The Jordanian ruler, it was reported, stressed the urgent need for agreement in the United Nations Security Council on a balanced Middle East resolution. He was said to have warned Mr. Brown that the present Jordan-Israel situation was “very dangerous” and could result in a major incident.
On his arrival here, the king made it clear that he was seeking modern aircraft to rebuild Jordan’s shattered air force. British experts saw little possibility of any arrangement unless the British Government was prepared to foot the bill. Hussein was said to want at least 20 jet fighters. The London Daily Telegraph asserted editorially today that Hussein’s request “should be sympathetically considered.”
(The Los Angeles Times-Washington Post service reported today that an agreement for the Jordanian purchase of 36 F-104 Star fighter jets from the United States had been quietly scrapped by mutual agreement. It was agreed, the news service said, that Jordan could not buy, fly or maintain the complex, sophisticated Star fighters. Instead, the service said, Jordan would seek to obtain the British made Hawker-Hunter subsonic jet fighters with which its air force was equipped before the June war.
(JTA reported from Washington that an elaborate program was being arranged for King Hussein who will arrive there on Monday. Meetings have been set up with President Johnson, Secretary of State Rusk and the king will appear before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to bid for support.)
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
