INSIDE WASHINGTON-1 TISKET A TASKET / FOOD IS SOON EATEN AND FLOWERS WILT FAST WE'LL WRAP UP A GLORIOUS BASKET FILLED WITH GIFTS THAT WILL LAST! Local and Nationwide Delivery 7 BARBARA KAPLAN Days a Week 661-4789 Ns4 if AIPAC Role In Saudi Deal Is Still Shrouded In Mystery arms proposals will soon be in the offing. JAMES DAVID BESSER Washington Correspondent Lobbying For Women A "Investment dressing . because your best investment is you." At Executive Custom Shirtmakers, Inc. we use the finest fabrics and expert craftsmanship to design each shirt especially for you. Because after all, you're worth the investment. Executive Custom Shirtmakers, Inc. 207 S. Woodward Ave. Birmingham, MI 48011 642-0460 legant ashion EVENING WEAR SPORTS WEAR ACCESSORIES "Special occasions require Special dresses" VI° 10-7 P.M. M-SAT. 10-5 SUN. 29325 14 Mile Corner of Middlebelt Farmington Hills Broadway Plaza (313) 737-4483 30 FRIDAY, OCT. 23, 1987, s more information e- merges about the promise worked out by the Administration and Congress over a new arms sale to Saudi Arabia, Jewish activists in Washington are reacting with mixed feelings. Several issues have emerged. First, there is con- cern that the Jewish groups involved in the secret discus- sions that forged the com- promise did not solicit input from the broader Jewish community. And there are ongoing con- cerns that the compromise represents only the first in a new series of arms sale pro- posals for Arab nations. If this is true — a new pro- posal to arm Jordan is sup- posedly in the works — the Administration's new, sophis- ticated approach to garnering congressional support may make subsequent sales far more difficult to fight. "There is sporadic resis- tence to the compromise," said one Jewish activist on the Hill involved in the pro- Israel cause. "But from what I understand, it is not really a big issue right now. Every- body considers it a reasonably good deal — even if they are still a little confused about just how it came about." Sources indicate that the key players in the com- promise were White House Chief of Staff Howard Baker — who was roundly criticized for mishandling the last Saudi arms sale proposal late last spring — and Sen. Howard Metzenbaum (D- Ohio), who apparently chip- ped away at the coalition op- posing arms for the Saudis. Primary opponents to the administration proposal were Sen. Alan Cranston (D-Calif.) and Sen. Robert Packwood (R- Ore.); two days before the com- promise was announced, spokesmen for Packwood were insisting that the Senator would never accept a corn- promise on arms for the Saudis. According to sources, it was the combination of Baker and Metzenbaum that brought these two critical legislators into line. The Israeli government, ac- cording to several reports, played no active role in the discussions, but were merely "interested observers." The packagers of the corn- Caspar Weinberger: Undercut. promise proposal also had to overcome opposition by Secre- tary of Defense Caspar Weinberger, who objected to the key provision of the deal — the elimination of 1600 Maverick anti-tank missiles from the arms sale package. But Weinberger's position was undercut somewhat by recent revelations that U.S.- built Stinger missiles shipped to Afghan rebels had found their way into Persian Gulf arsenals; pro-Israel groups had argued that one of the dangers of the Mavericks was their transportability, which meant that missiles shipped to Saudi Arabia could easily end up in the hands of the Syrians. A continuing mystery in the affair is the role of the American Israel Public Af- fairs Committee (AIPAC). It is widely assumed that rIbm Dine, executive director of the group, was a key player in the compromise. But AIPAC spokesmen give only vague answers about the role of the pro-Israel giant. There is widespread agree- ment here that the Admini- stration handled the arms sale proposal with consumate skill, something that has been notably lacking in earlier proposals. "They did it with constant consultation and discussion," according to one staffer with a foreign relations committee on the Hill. "The way they did it, nobody felt undermined, everyone came out of it smell- ing like a rose. It was a big triumph for Howard Baker?' Recent signs of Saudi cooperation with U.S. forces in the gulf — and the worsen- ing nature of the crisis there — suggest that additional The Womens' League for Conservative Judaism is meeting here in Washington this week, and a primary pur- pose of the two-day gathering will be to develop grass-roots action to create a more favorable climate for women candidates. The group, which repre- sents more than 200,000 women in the United States and Canada, is calling for a new political climate in which women would be given equal consideration in the can- didate selection process. Currently, many women are reluctant to enter the political arena because the odds are so heavily stacked against them, according to a group spokesperson. Neither political party, this spokesper- son said, is doing nearly enough to establish condi- tions more favorable to women candidates. In addition to working on establishing new grass roots procedures to draw women in to the political process, the Jewish womens' group will meet with a number of legis- lators to drive home their con- cerns about the continuing problems faced by women in party politics. Lobbying Skills Expand One of the lesser-known facts in this town is the way sophisticated lobbying techni- ques have become available to a wider range of special- interest groups. And two direct conse- quences of this trend are now making themselves felt on the Hill. First, anti-Israel groups like the Arab- American Anti-Defamation League and its associated groups are employing the kinds of slick, well-financed lobbying procedures that have been used so successfull- ly over the years by Israel's supporters. And the legislative process has become more open to far- out fringe groups, especially on the Christian Right. In several cases, groups with philosophies that most Jewish leaders consider threatening have access to congressional offices, and in some cases, to officials at the White House. The lobbying by pro Arab