The Department of State announced yesterday that the United States has agreed to supply the Arab state of Jordan with American military jet aircraft. Official sources described the jets as supersonic military planes of modern design, and said the U.S. Air Force will train Jordanian pilots and ground crew personnel. A Department spokesman described the transaction as “consistent with our due regard for area security. ” The text of the spokesman’s official statement follows:
“As the Department stated on February 5, the United States Government has over the years provided Jordan with limited amounts of arms to meet its defense requirements. We can confirm that an agreement has recently been reached between the United States and Jordan, providing for Jordanian purchase of a limited number of military jet aircraft for its air defense system to replace older models.
“Just as we will continue to refrain from being a principal supplier of arms to the Near East, so does it remain our policy not to discuss the specifics of arms transactions as they occur. Therefore, we are not in a position to go into details of the equipment sold in this case.
“Our sale to Jordan was made both in light of Jordan’s requirements and in accordance with our policy of preventing instability from developing in the Near East. It is consistent with our due regard for area security and our general restraint as to the equipment supplied.
“We do not believe that this sale will be a destabilizing factor or contribute to imbalance in the area. In this connection, we continue to regret the massive Soviet sales of arms to certain countries of the Near East which have intensified the arms race in that area, and we will continue to strive for agreed limitations on arms buildups there.”
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.
