INSIDE WASHINGTON
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WHERE?
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WITH WHOM?
THE JEWISH NATIONAL FUND,
NATURALLY!
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Solidarity Mission to Israel,
April 14 - 23, 1991.
Price for the 1991 Solidarity Mission to Israel:
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April 10 - 14, 1991.
Additional cost for the Poland pre-mission: $549.
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36
FRIDAY, MARCH 22, 1991
Washington Correspondent
$14 Billion Saudi
Arms Deal On Hold
W
hatever happened
to the Mother of All
Arms Sales — the
proposed $14 billion sequel
to last year's record sale to
Saudi Arabia?
Recently, the administra-
tion indicated that the huge
deal was on hold — and that
the $14 billion price tag
would be trimmed.
The reason, according to
administration sources, is
mounting congressional
pressure, and especially the
opposition of some key con-
gressional leaders —
although some traditional
opponents of big arms sales
indicate that congressional
opposition was just in the
formative stage.
So why the sudden retreat?
Pro-Israel activists point to
several factors.
One is that the Saudi
government does not yet
have its act together.
"The results of the war
have changed the military
equation," said an official
with a major pro-Israel
organization. "The Saudis
apparently have been slow
to update their assessment
of what they need in this
new environment."
Also, sources here suggest
that the administration
wants some time to deter-
mine how to re-package the
sale to the region to deflect
charges that they are
violating their oft-stated
desire to avoid a new Middle
East arms race.
And the postponement has
a political component. In the
recent agreement providing
$650 million in emergency
aid to Israel, the Shamir
government agreed to
postpone requests for addi-
tional aid until after Labor
Day.
There is widespread
speculation here that the
administration will defer the
big Saudi sale until
September — when opposi-
tion might be neutralized by
the parallel battle for the
critical U.S. guarantees.
Lawmakers Push To End
Kuwait Boycott Of Israel
The anti-boycott message
continues to percolate on
Capitol Hill, where a flurry
of letters and resolutions are
directed at moving the Arab
nations that participated in
the war against Saddam
Hussein to end the anti-
Israel boycott.
Several members of the
huge congressional delega-
tion that spent last weekend
in the Gulf region worked
feverishly last week to add
to the congressional push.
Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.)
and Sen. Joe Lieberman (D-
Conn.) hastily collected 82
signatures last week on a
letter urging the Kuwaiti
Rep. Charles Schumer:
Proposing a change.
government to drop the
boycott of Israel as a
necessary first step in the
peace process.
The two legislators were
scheduled to give the copy
directly to the Emir, and to
Commerce Secretary Robert
Mosbacher.
Rep. Charles Schumer
(D-N.Y.) may be taking a
different tack on the boycott
issue. Mr. Schumer is
preparing legislation to give
the Justice Department
primary responsibility for
enforcing anti-boycott
legislation. Currently, that
authority rests with the
Commerce Department.
George Shultz Proposed
As Mideast Peacemaker
Storyteller
Saturday, March 23
8:00 p.m.
‘-‘ These programs are funded in part by Michigan
Council for the Arts and the Manny and .Vatalie
. 11
Cbaracb Endowment Fund at the Center.
JAMES D. BESSER
As the administration
looks for a Middle East
peacemaking strategy, one
Democratic senator has a
little suggestion for the folks
at the White House.
Why not hire a fulltime
peace negotiator for the re-
gion? asked Sen. Paul Simon
(D-I11.) at a recent seminar
sponsored by the Washing-
ton arm of American Friends
of Peace Now, the Center for
Israeli Defense and Security.
And why not pick a
negotiator whose stature
could ease the fears of
Israelis worried about an
imposed settlement? The
man for the job, Mr. Simon
told the group, could be
George Shultz, the former
secretary of state in the
Reagan administration and
one of the key architects of
the warm relationship bet-
ween the two countries dur-
ing that time.
George Shultz:
Popular in Israel.
Mr. Shultz was
unavailable for comment
about the suggestion. And
political sources here sug-
gest that Mr. Simon's pro-
posal could run afoul of polit-
ical considerations; Mr.
Shultz's popularity is not as
high in the administration
as it is in Israel.