Congress Moving at Deliberate Pace on Administration’s Request for Approval Oe U.S. Personnel

Congress is moving at a deliberate pace toward action on the Administration’s request for approval of the presence of American technicians in Sinai despite President Ford’s urging that it act within two weeks of Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger’s Sept. 4 briefing of Senate and House leaders on the Israeli-Egyptian interim accord. Action according to Ford’s timetable is already four days overdue.

While a vote may come late this week on the concurrent resolution introduced on Sept. 10 by Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman John Sparkman (D.Ala.) at the State Department’s request, it is more likely to be held over in view of the continuing discussions in committee and the scheduling of the debate to follow. The House International Relations Committee will hold another session behind closed doors tomorrow with Undersecretary of State Joseph J. Sisco testifying for the Administration. It will be Sisco’s third appearance before the committee since last week.

The Sparkman resolution calls for not more than 200 Americans to serve in the Sinai surveillance units to be established under the terms of the interim accord. Some Americans will be stationed in one Egyptian and one Israeli advance warning post and the others will man three other exclusively American posts to be set up between Israeli and Egyptian lines.

The resolution stipulates that the President can withdraw the American personnel in the event of hostilities or if their presence is no longer required. Otherwise, they will remain in Sinai for the duration of the three-year agreement at an estimated cost of about $10 million a year. It is understood, however, that Congress will insist in the final resolution to have the right to remove the Americans itself under stated conditions.

SADAT SUGGESTED U.S. PRESENCE

The evolution of the American presence, described in the transcript of a Sisco interview on Public Broadcasting Station WETA Sept. 10, which has been released by the State Department, confirmed that the matter was first suggested by President Anwar Sadat of Egypt and not by Israel as originally contended. According to Sisco, Sadat objected to Israel’s insistence that it retain control of the advance warning station it built at Umm Hasheiba located in the area that will become the UN buffer zone under terms of the accord.

“At one point he did suggest that perhaps Americans, and even the UN, might man this station,” but “the Israelis did not agree with this and therefore the discussion evolved in such a way that it was agreed, as contained in the agreement, that there would be one strategic early warning station manned and operated by the Israelis” and “likewise the Egyptians would have the right to build one not too far away in the passes.” Sisco said. “In addition, there would be three small manned tactical early warning stations which would be manned by Americans.”

Sisco said there would be “a few Americans at the large strategic installation of the Israelis and there will be a few Americans at the large Egyptian installation, but this is largely in a custodial role. The Egyptians will in fact be operating their own stations and the Israelis will in fact be operating their own. Our role will be in the manned stations in early warning.”