ARMS AS AID: RISING DOUBT

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00965R000605520005-2
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: May 1, 2012
• Sequence Number: 5
• Publication Date: May 9, 1986
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

I'.STAT
G Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/05/01 : CIA-RDP90-00965R000605520005-2
Arms as-Aid:
Rising Doubt
,Special to The New York Times
WASHINGTON, May 8 - The over-
whelming Congressional votes this
week against President Reagan's pro-
posed arms deal with Saudi Arabia re-
flect rising doubts among legislators
about the Administration's plans to use
American-supplied weap-
ons as a primary instru-
ment of foreign policy.
Analysis To Congressional sup-
porters of the Administra-
tion, this is a deeply dis-
turbing trend that could undermine
President Reagan's ability to conduct
foreign affairs from the Middle East to
Central America.
"Micromanagement of foreign
policy has reached a nadir in this Con-
gress," said Representative Henry J.
Hyde of Illinois, .a senior Republican on
the Foreign Affairs Committee. "And
it makes it very difficult in a dangerous
world where there is increasingly less
margin for error."
But Congressional critics of the Ad-
ministration say they are simply car-
rying out their constitutional responsi-
bilities to control the Federal purse and
influence Administration policies. Rep-
resentative Dave McCurdy, an Okla-
homa Democrat on the House Select
Committee on Intelligence, expressed
a view of the Administration's policy
that is common among the critics:
"You don't buy allies."
Consultation Sought
Moreover, even supporters of Mr.
Reagan say the Administration has
caused many of its own problems by
failing to adequately consult Congress
on foreign policy matters. Mark
Helmke, a spokesman for Senator
Richard G. Lugar, chairman of the
Foreign Relations Committee, said:
"Lugar keeps stressing that there has
to be a partnership on foreign policy.
As soon as the Administration goes it
alone, they are much more likely to
lose."
As Mr. Helmke noted, the Adminis-
tration had a foreign policy triumph in
the Philippines, where it helped to re-
place Ferdinand E. Marcos as Presi-
dent with Corazon C. Aquino. But the
Administration moved to support Mrs.
Aquino only after the White House lis-
tened to advice from many lawmakers
that he drop Mr. Marcos.
In the Saudi case, the Administration
continues to defy large majorities in
both chambers who voted to block Mr.
Reagan's plan to sell advanced mis-
siles worth $354 million to Riyadh. Mr.
Reagan vowed to veto the resolution of
disapproval and Donald T. Regan, the
White House chief of staff, predicted to-
day that the veto would be sustained, at
least in the Senate.
9 May 1986
A `Continuous Struggle'
But the President faces a very diffi-
cult task. In both chambers, the mar-
gin against his plan was far more than
the two-thirds vote needed to override
his veto.
Representative Dick Cheney of Wyo-
ming, a member. of the Republican
leadership, observed that Congress and
the White House have been engaged in
a "continuous struggle" over foreign
policy matters since the end of the Viet-
nam War. That struggle has heated up
in recent months.
Congress has twice thwarted Presi-
dent Reagan's plan to send $100 million
in military aid to the Nicaraguan
rebels, and a bill heading for the House
floor would effectivel ar secret aid to
insurgents in Angola.
ay, a ouse su committee voted
to subpoena the bank records of
brokers and suppliers who handled $27
million in nonmilitary aid for the Nica-
raguan rebels last year. The House in-
telli ence committee voted to continue
to ar the en ra n e igence genc
from an operational roe in the ,vicar a
guan a e. And four Senate Dem
cra s urged President Reagan to more
closely consult with Congress under the
War Powers Resolution in light of the
recent attack on Libyan targets.
An Element of Policy
To the Administration and its sup-
porters, the use of military aid and
arms deals constitutes an essential ele-
ment of foreign policy. This week, they,
have argued that the main reason for
completing the Saudi sale was political
rather than military, that selling arms
was a sign of friendship and a way.of
cementing relationships with moderate
Governments in the Middle East.
Moreover, Mr. Cheney said, selling
arms to a country creates a "continu-
ing relationship" that involves training
troops, replenishing stockpiles, and
supplying spare parts. According to
this reasoning, Washington has extra
leverage over any country that is de-
pendent on American weapons.
But that argument failed partly be-
cause many members of Congress did
not accept the Administration's conten-
tion that American arms had made
Saudi Arabia a useful and reliable ally.
Many said the Saudis had undermined
the Middle East peace process by de-
nouncing Egypt and financing the
Palestine Liberation Organization.
President Reagan eroded his own
case by calling attention to the issue of
terrorism and by ordering American
planes to attack Libya. The resulting
mood, particularly in light of the Sau-
dis' support for Libya, worked strongly
against the President on the question of
aid to Riyadh.
A third factor, in Mr. Cheney's view,
was "crass, crude politics." Even
though Israel and the lobbying groups
that support its policies stayed out of
the fight over arms for the Saudis,
many lawmakers said they still did not
want to risk the wrath of Israel's sup-
porters in the next election.
Supporters of the President also say
that the. Administration, distracted by
the Tokyo summit meeting, did a
particularly poor job of promoting the
arms deal. The result, Representative
Hyde said, is that the Administration is
now lamed by a wound it helped inflict
on itself.
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/05/01 : CIA-RDP90-00965R000605520005-2