The United States Government may be indirectly financing Iraqi military units based in Jordan, including artillery units that have fired on Israeli kibbutzim, according to Sen. Vance Hartke, Indiana Democrat. Sen. Hartke, a member of the Commerce Committee, which handles revenue legislation, has asked Secretary of State William P. Rogers for a report on continued American financial assistance to Jordan and on possible Jordanian diversion of support funds to cover logistical costs of Iraqi units stationed on its territory.
The Senator suggested that Jordan may be compensating Iraq for rations, lodging, and even munitions and pay for such Iraqi military components as the Saladdin Brigade now in northern Jordan. The inquiry followed recent developments in Baghdad including the hanging of Jews.
Col. Robert S. Allen, a nationally syndicated writer who specializes on military matters, wrote today that the Iraqi forces were “equipped with Russian guns, radar, and other advanced devices.” He said “Soviet Army instructors and technicians” trained the Iraqis now in Jordan menacing Israel. According to Col. Allen, the U.N. may have been indirectly “footing the bill” for the Iraqi forces in Jordan since June, 1967. He cited various categories of aid and support funds given to Jordan, which totalled over $622 million between 1946 and 1968, and new allocations. Col. Allen learned from authoritative sources, apparently military quarters, that some of the U.S. funds given to Jordan had been diverted by King Hussein to defray the expenses of Iraqi forces in Jordan. State Department officials declined to comment.
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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.
