Senate Demands Release of Study Concerning U.S. Troops on Golan

Members of Congress will have a study detailing scenarios of possible U.S. troop deployment on the Golan Heights in their hands by Oct. 15.

An amendment to the $243 billion Defense Appropriations bill, approved by the Senate last week, requires the State Department to release a confidential study conducted by the Rand Corporation.

The study examines the roles U.S. troops could play in Middle East peace settlements.

The Senate bill, approved Aug. 11 with a vote of 86-14, also includes several provisions for funding joint U.S.-Israel military projects.

Jewish groups opposed to the current peace process, who have banded together in a loose coalition with Christian pro-Israel organizations to oppose any U.S. peacekeepers on the Golan, hailed the amendment as a “major achievement.”

Calling themselves the Coalition for a Secure U.S.-Israel Friendship, the 20 groups joined forces in June to oppose any settlement with Syria that includes U.S. peacekeepers.

A ‘USELESS’ DEPLOYMENT

“Our ultimate goal is to prevent such a deployment which is useless and would serve only as a fig leaf for Prime Minister Rabin,” said Herbert Zweibon, chairman of Americans for a Safe Israel, a member of the coalition.

The issue of U.S. troops being sent to enforce a peace agreement between Israel and Syria came to the fore two months ago when the Senate overwhelmingly defeated a measure that would have enacted burdensome reporting requirements before the president could station troops on the Golan.

Many pro-Israel members of Congress, as well as the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, fought against the measure, saying it was premature and could damage sensitive negotiations between Israel and Syria.

Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin joined the fray at the time, accusing the right-wing groups of trying to derail the peace process.

Most analysts believe that any future peace deal between Israel and Syria will require some international observers or forces, including from the United States.

The existence of the classified study only became public in the last few weeks after the Center for Security Policy, a conservative think-tank, found out about it.

Although no one seems to know the contents of the report, Zweibon said the amendment mandating its release satisfies his desire for a public debate. He said his coalition will not seek further congressional action before the study is made public.

AIPAC officials said the lobbying organization did not oppose the amendment to the Defense Appropriations bill, saying it is an internal matter between the State Department and members of Congress.

The Defense Appropriations bill will go before a House and Senate conference committee next month to reconcile differences between each chamber’s version. Observes expect the amendment on the Rand study to emerge intact from the conference.

The amendment, proposed by Sen. Don Nickles (R-Okla.), requires the study to be released to Congress in both classified and unclassified forms. Among the joint U.S.-Israel projects funded in the bill is $67 million for developing the U.S.-Israel Arrow missile program and its future deployment. The Arrow missile is designed to intercept ballistic missiles.

The measure also includes $26 million for the Israeli Popeye missile program, an air-to-ground missile designed to extend the range of conventional B-52 bombers. Capitol Hill sources said they do not expect any opposition to these projects during the conference committee meetings.