Defense Department Reveals Jordan to Get More Arms; Jordanians Trained at Ft. Monmouth

The Defense Department disclosed Friday that new munitions shipments have been made to Jordan by the United States and that Jordanian soldiers were receiving and will continue to receive training at Fort Monmouth, N.J. and other U.S. military installations under special arrangements with the Amman Government. The disclosure, contained in a letter from Harry H. Schwartz, deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Near East and South Asian Affairs, to Rep. Seymour Halpern, New York Republican, also listed in detail military equipment that the U.S. has sent or will send to Israel.

Rep. Halpern took issue with the Defense Department’s assertion that Jordan was being armed because “it continues to be in the national interest to encourage and strengthen those moderate Arab states who are trying to follow a more reasonable course of national development than some of their neighbors and to preclude the Soviet Union from gaining uncontested influence throughout the area.” The Congressman said, “I do not see what is ‘more reasonable’ about collaboration with Arab terrorists which is precisely what the Jordanian Government has been doing to a notorious degree.” He said he would investigate grants providing free training and free arms for Jordanian forces at the expense of American taxpayers. He also said that “since the Defense Department has seen fit to publish in such detail the military items sold to Israel, I am going to ask for a similar listing of the jets, anti-aircraft and weapons systems given to Jordan.”

According to the Defense Department official, Israel will receive additional Hawk anti-aircraft missiles, gas masks and related chemical warfare defense equipment and other military supplies including 50 Phantom jet fighter bombers. The disclosure was in response to an inquiry made by Rep. Halpern who claimed he had evidence that new American arms including missiles were delivered to Jordan aboard the American cargo ship “Steel Rover” of the States Marine-Isthmian Line. Mr. Schwartz conceded that the “Steel Rover” carried a shipment of munitions to Jordan but said there were no missiles aboard. He said the training was provided to Jordanian troops here under a U.S. grant for that purpose as well as on a reimbursible basis. He noted that the U.S. continues to supply Israel with military training and technical information on a wide variety of matters. Israel pilots are presently in the U.S. training to fly Phantom jets.

Rep. Halpern said the shipment of arms to Jordan should be suspended immediately and taken under review until King Hussein can establish that the weapons are used for “internal security” and not for collaboration “with the terrorists’ unrelenting sneak attacks against Israel in violation of United Nations cease-fire commitments.”

Mr. Schwartz justified the aid to Jordan on the grounds that the U.S. believed “it is important for Israel and the moderate Arab states to retain Western alternatives to the Soviet Union for necessary arms supplies and general military advice.” Mr. Schwartz claimed that “the Israelis share this view point” and cited as evidence an interview published in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, Jan. 19, 1968 according to which Defense Minister Moshe Dayan said Israel favored American rather than Soviet arms supplies to Jordan. Referring to U.S. military supplies to Israel, Mr. Schwartz said that in light of Soviet shipments to Egypt, Iraq and Syria, “We have met a large number of Israeli requests for military equipment and training. These include the recent arrangement to sell 50 Phantom aircraft with delivery to begin before the end of 1969; continued delivery of Skyhawk jet aircraft as agreed in 1966; and the delivery of additional Hawk air defense missiles. We have agreed to provide a wide variety of other items including: ammunition of various calibres; gas masks and related equipment; spare parts for weapons systems such as Patton tanks, Hawk missiles and other ground force equipment; considerable communications equipment of various sorts; components and materiel necessary to keep production and overhaul lines operating; and miscellaneous items of equipment purchased in Europe from U.S. stocks.” Mr. Schwartz said, “Israel also purchases a considerable assortment of military and military-related items from commercial sources.”