Members of Congress Ask Baker for More Details on Arms Sale

Thirty-seven members of the House of Representatives signed a letter sent to Secretary of State James Baker on Thursday, asking for more information on the Bush administration’s proposed $3 billion sale to Saudi Arabia of 315 tanks and other military equipment.

The letter, initiated by Reps. Mel Levine (D-Calif.) and Lawrence Smith (D-Fla.), was described by a Capitol Hill source as “moderate.”

It was signed by a bipartisan majority of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, as well as by Majority Leader Richard Gephardt (D-Mo.) and Vin Weber (R-Minn.), a Republican House leader.

In a separate statement, Levine said the sale should be examined as to how it furthers U.S. foreign policy priorities in the Middle East. He pointed out that the Saudis’ position in the peace process has been “abysmal.”

“Their vote just two days ago to days ago to deny Israel’s credentials at the United Nations underscores that the Saudis continue to cast their lot with the most radical and rejectionist Arab countries,” Levine said.

However, the letter to Baker did not express outright opposition to the sale of the Abrams M1-A2 tank to the Saudis. But it was critical that there had not been “greater consultation with Congress before a decision was reached on the Ml sale.”

The administration sent Congress unofficial notification of the sale on Oct. 11, triggering 20 days of consultations before the administration must provide formal notification. Congress then has up to 30 days to reject the sale; otherwise it goes through automatically.

Pro-Israel members of Congress, while not happy with the proposed sale, are trying to avoid another bruising battle over arms being sold to the Saudis.

In their letter, the members of the House raised several specific questions. “We would like to know about the strategic threat necessitating this sale; about the type of armor, ammunition and improvements the tanks will have, as well as what components will be in the total package,” the House members said.

They also asked whether the sale will replace or add to the number of tanks in the Saudi arsenal, where they will be based, what controls over their use will be placed by the United States and “their effect on the overall military balance in the region.”

The letter underscored that answers to these questions “could facilitate the forging of a consensus on this particular sale and hopefully lead to more routinized procedures between the branches on arms transfer problems.”