omm

INSIDE WASHINGTON

ani

Rhoda's

sportswear, inc.

ettrif

FACTORY OUTLET

at 40%-70% OFF

WOMEN'S CLOTHING

1717 Cass Lake Road
(1 mile north of Orchard Lake Rd.)

l'14

682-1520

E FEATURE ORIGINAL
JEWELRY DESIGNS
NOT AVAILABLE ELSEWHERE

ALL JEWELRY ALWAYS 2 0 % OFF

ASTREIN'S

120 W. MAPLE • BIRMINGHAM • 644-1651
MON.-SAT. 10-5:30 • THURS. & FRI. 'TIL 9:00
M/CNISA/AMX ACCEPTED

Re'

\1 00`).

SAVE FROM
20% TO 50%*

MARV
SAYS

CUSTOM
WALL
MIRROR
SPECIALISTS

TUB & SHOWER
ENCLOSURES
MIRRORED
BIFOLD OR
SLIDING DOORS

INSULATED (-
GLASS
REPLACED

MOBIL
AUTO
GLASS
SERVICE

• TABLE TOPS
• STORM DOORS &
WINDOWS
• PATIO DOOR WALLS
REPLACED
• STORMS & SCREENS
REPAIRED

MI

VISIT OUR
SHOWROOM

*Suggested List Price

GLASS & AUTO TRIM
CUSTOM WALL MIRRORS
TIRES & ACCESSORIES

SOUTHFIELD: 24777 Telegraph
353-2500
Other locations: Wayne and Lincoln Park

4181111111.1111M111..

32

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 1988

George Bush Shifts Iran-Contra
Blame From Self To Israel

byists here. "We're not wor-
ried, said one lobbyist, "but
we are going to watch this
with a lot of concern."

JAMES DAVID BESSER

Washington Correspondent

H

as George Bush de-
cided to sacrifice Jew-
ish support in an ef-
fort to neutralize the political
fallout from the Iran-Contra
scandal?
Jewish politicos are wrestl-
ing with this question in the
wake of Bush's tussle with
CBS news anchor Dan Rath-
er, when Bush insisted that
the arms sales "were an
operation in the hands of a
foreign power." According to
some, Bush has been attempt-
ing to shift blame away from
his own involvement in the
arms-for-hostages affair —
and in the direction of
Jerusalem.
"It's noteworthy that the
only major reservation that
the Vice President has had
about this affair — at least
publicly — was Israel's role,"
said Dan ,Mariashin, com-
munications director for one
of Bush's GOP rivals, Alex-
ander Haig. "I would ask this
question to the Vice Presi-
dent: Why did he feel it was
only Israel's role he had to
bring up?"
Mariashin also suggested
that Bush "wants it both
ways. On one hand, he wants
to posit himself as a staunch
friend of Israel, and on the
other, at the first opportuni-
ty, he's trying to call into
question Israel's role."
Other observers point out
that Bush has never enjoyed
particularly strong support
from the Jewish community
— and that, in any case,
Jewish support is not a key
factor in Republican presiden-
tial primaries.

And one more development
may put an unpredictable
spin on Bush's recent state-
ments. Last week's revela-
tions about the curious deal-
ings between Attorney
General Edwin Meese and his
longtime legal advisor, E. Bob
Wallach over an Iraqi pipeline
project raise the spectre of
another political scandal in-
volving Israel and some of her
Jewish supporters here. There
is growing speculation that
Meese may resign over the
scandal — an action that
would once again focus
negative attention on Israel.
In this kind of climate,
Bush's remarks about the
Iran-Contra scandal could
prove to be a ticking time
bomb right in the middle of
the battle for the White
House.

Biden Already
Looking At 1992?

Bush:
Sacrificing Jewish support?

Aid Process Is
Reviewed

An unpublicized meeting of
Democratic members of the
House Foreign Affairs Com-
mittee may have big implica-
tions for Israel.
At the planning and
strategy session last week,
committee chairman Dante
Fascell (D-Fla.) appointed a
task force to review the
foreign aid process — a key
part of the committee's work,
and Israel's economic and
military lifeline.

He appointed Rep. Lee
Hamilton (D-Ind.) to chair the
informal group, which does
not yet have a timetable for
reviewing the complex pro-
cess of doling out American
dollars.
According to sources close to
the committee, the task force
will not review broad policy
questions, but concentrate on
the nitty-gritty of foreign aid
— including the controversial
process of "earmarking." Ear-
marking is the process by
which Congress designates
foreign aid money for par-
ticular countries and par-
ticular projects — like Israel.
Earmarked funds enjoy
relative immunity from the
knives of congressional
budget cutters.
The State Department op-
poses earmarking, on the
grounds that it short-circuits
the specialists charged with
making aid decisions. And
earmarked funds for Israel
are the special targets of their
ire, since they represent such
a large proportion of Ameri-
can aid.
Rep. Hamilton, the task
force chairman, is generally
respected by pro-Israel lob-

On the political front, former
presidential candidate Joe
Biden (D-Del.) met with his
top campaign financing staff
last week at his home. Biden
was widely regarded as the
frontrunner among Jewish
democrats until his with-
drawal following revelations
of plagarized speeches.
But the meeting does not
represent the beginnings of a
renewed Biden campaign, a la
Gary Hart. According to
sources close to Biden, the
powerful chairman of the
Senate Judiciary Committee
is more interested in laying
some early groundwork for
1992.
Biden's top staff during his
ill-fated campaign included
an unusually high number of
pro-Israel activists, many of
whom are not yet committed
to other Democratic candi-
dates.
A recent fund-raising move
by the Jesse Jackson cam-
paign has raised the dander
of some Jewish politicos here.
The new tactic involves loose-
plate collections in a number
of black churches.

I IN BRIEF

Jordan Arms
Sale Considered

Washington — The Reagan
administration is considering
a possible $14-million sale of
Sidewinder missiles to Jor-
dan. However, a Pentagon
spokesman declined to com-
ment on the prospect, except
to confirm that Congress has
not been notified officially of
such plans.
The missiles, which have
been termed the "most-
advanced" air-to-air missiles
to date that the United States
has made available for
foreign governments to buy,
would be deployed from eight
Tornado fighter bombers that
Jordan is in the process of
buying from Great Britain.
A congressional source last
week confirmed that the
Reagan administration has
begun consulting Congress on
the issue. The administra-
tion's proposed arms sales to
Jordan in 1985 and 1986,
which Congress blocked, con-
tained 300 Sidewinders.