The Reagan Administration stressed that no decision will be made before next fall on requests by Jordan and Saudi Arabia to buy sophisticated American arms. “Both Jordan and Saudi Arabia have informed us of their current defense needs and these remain under review,” State Department deputy spokesman Charles Redman said last Thursday.
He reiterated that the just completed Administration study on how Middle East arms sales fit into U.S. policy does not recommend any specific sale. He said the study, which is being shown to Congressional committees on a classified basis was not “a decision” paper but “a document which contains the framework on which decisions can then be made.”
Redman stressed, as did Richard Murphy, Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs in his testimony last Wednesday before the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Europe and the Middle East, that Congress will be consulted before a decision on any arms sales to Jordan or Saudi Arabia is made.
But Murphy was warned Wednesday that any such sale would face a tough “AWACS-type” fight in Congress where majorities in both houses are already on record as opposed to selling any new arms to Jordan or Saudi Arabia without any progress in the Middle East peace process.
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