President Clinton has pledged to ask Congress and U.S. allies abroad to help reduce Jordan’s $6.6 billion debt as a reward for its progress in peace talks with Israel.
The offer came at a meeting with King Hussein during his visit here last week.
After the hour-long session last Wednesday, Clinton said he was “very encouraged by where we are in the whole peace process.”
A Jordanian official hailed Clinton’s move as a “positive step for the future of Jordan.”
Debt payments amount to almost 30 percent of Jordan’s total annual budget, according to the official.
White House sources dismissed reports that Clinton offered to go to Congress and ask lawmakers to forgive Jordan’s $650 million debt to the United States at this time.
Instead, they said, Clinton will ask America’s European allies to either forgive or reschedule Jordan’s debt.
But administration officials said that if there is an open summit between Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Hussein or other public displays of normalized relations, the White House will ask Congress to set aside Jordan’s debt.
OPPOSITION IS ALREADY MOUNTING
Under an agreement reached two weeks ago in Washington, Jordanian and Israeli negotiators are scheduled to meet in the Middle East next month to discuss water and territorial issues.
But even if the administration opts to forgive Jordan’s debt in the future, coming up with the money will be no easy task, according to observers.
Any debt forgiveness, which would incur cost to the American taxpayer, would have to be offset by increased revenue or savings.
In order to approve spending the funds to offset the debt, Congress would have to vote on such a measure either separately or as part of another piece of legislation.
Opposition is already mounting to Clinton’s proposal in Congress.
Sen. Alfonse D’Amato, (R-N.Y.), has said he will oppose forgiving Jordan’s debt unless Hussein extends formal diplomatic relations to Israel and acknowledges the Jewish state’s right to exist.
Some Jewish groups are also planning an assault on the Clinton pledge.
Herbert Zweibon, executive director of Americans for a Safe Israel, said, “I’m opposed to doling out benefits to people who just come to the table. The entire process is flawed.”
Zweibon said Jordan should “not make peace for money but for the sake of making peace.”
But in the view of Mark Rosenblum, political director and founder of Americans for Peace Now, giving Jordan debt relief now is “consistent with Israel’s self-interest in peacemaking.”
“It’s a helpful step to show the Arab nations that peace does pay,” Rosenblum said.
Malcolm Hoenlein, executive vice chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, said, “The conditions being set are reasonable and if Jordan delivers, that would be the basis (to forgive the debt).”
During his meeting with Hussein, Clinton also offered to host a Washington summit between Hussein and Rabin.
Hussein apparently did not reply directly to the offer, although he told reporters in Washington that he hopes to meet openly with Israeli leaders in the near future.
The Israeli prime minister, for his part, said last week that he was “ready to meet with King Hussein whenever and wherever he wants in an attempt to further peace between Jordan and Israel.”
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