Congress and the Administration Headed for Another Battle over Pentagon’s Announcement of Sale of 1,

The Reagan Administration is expected to get into another confrontation with Congress over the Pentagon’s announcement that the United States will sell 1,600 shoulder-fired heat-seeking Stinger anti-aircraft missiles to Jordan. The Stingers would replace the Redeye missiles now in Jordan and would be delivered over a six-year period.

The $133 million transaction, announced by the Pentagon late last Thursday, followed the Pentagon’s announcement earlier in the week that it plans to sell to Saudi Arabia 1,200 Stinger missiles along with spare parts. The price tag for that weapons system is $141 million.

Only hours before the Pentagon notified Congress of its sale to Jordan, Sen. Robert Kasten (R. Wisc.), chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee’s subcommittee on foreign relations, told Secretary of State George Shultz he believed the Stinger “is an ideal terrorist weapon” and “will simply add to the problem of Israel’s defending itself.”

Shultz, who was testifying before the subcommittee, said Jordan would not use the weapons against Israel. He stressed that King Hussein was seeking ways to form a Joint Jordanian-Palestinian delegation to negotiate with Israel and if he was successful, Jordan would come under pressure from Syria. But Kasten and nearly all the Senators present at the subcommittee hearing reportedly said they would fight the sale.

Last Monday, the House Foreign Affairs subcommittee on Europe and the Middle East adopted an amendment by a vote of 7-2 that would forbid such sales unless the President “has certified to the Congress that Jordan is publicly committed to the recognition of Israel and to prompt entry into direct peace negotiations with Israel.”

Congress has 30 days in which it can reject the sale, by majority vote of both Houses. For the last year, there has been a strong feeling in Congress against any arms for Jordan unless it joins the Mideast peace talks.