Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - October 28, 1981, Winnipeg, Manitoba 8 Winnipeg free october 1981 by Joseph Albright Cox news service shortly after Jimmy Carter was Defeated for re a message Centre at Cia Headquarters received an unexpected Bac Channel communication from the saudi arabian by passing the state the saudis asked the lame Duck administration in november 1980 to endorse the Sale of a acs radar surveillance in those a visitor to the King Dom could stand at 11 outside the Petroleum ministry in Riyadh and see an Azacs As it whined toward a Landing after patrolling Over the Oil but it was not a saudi owned the Blue Block letters on the Side spelled air that was what the saudis were determined to change out of family Mili tary need and a calculated desire to test american susceptibility to israeli backed the saudis will get their an after a year of High level hand wringing throughout the Senate will vote on whether to approve the Sale of billion Worth of Azacs planes and other air warfare implements to the House of the which hinges mostly on a half dozen undecided will be a punch in the jaw for either Israel or saudi both on americas Short list of vital bold missed opportunities and High level misunderstandings helped propel the government into its Azacs it now appears that there was a time when Ronald Reagan could have avoided a crunching in what was required was a yes Orno decision from Reagan in the Heady Days when he was american and saudi military teams have been talking about ways to improve radar coverage around the saudi Oil Complex at least since and to a visiting reporter driving through the Oil regions last this seemed scarcely saudi pumping stations and Stor age tanks Are naked to air some Sotver sophisticated radar dishes Are scattered on a few at these could spot an enemy fighter 20 Miles talks about improved radars came to nothing until the Shah fell from Power in Iran in Early after saudi Arabia took on new significance1 in Pentagon eyes As a potential strategic springboard for american Mili tary forces trying to exert some control Over the persian the saudis were at first enigmatic and in March with saudi acquires the United states dispatched How Azacs Row began it f c saudis wanted their own Flag on airborne radar stations to show they did not need to protect their 6wn two Azacs planes to saudi Ara Bia to Monitor air activity along its Borders with North and South saudi defence minister Prince sul Tan was six months later he asked the Pentagon to conduct a feasibility study on whether an airborne surveillance system would help close the radar before the Pentagon agreed to make the the saudis formally asked to buy the Azacs in february defence Secretary Harold Brown was scarcely horrified at this pos Sibili but with the election he and other Carter officials found Rea sons for dialogue of deaf a canny senior Prince who Speaks no met Brown in Gen Eva in june the result was a breathtaking con Ferring through Sultan and his party went that Brown had promised to sell the Azacs Browns version is that he said Azacs planes could be deployed in saudi Arabia for joint exercises but no decision could be made on Selling the planes before a feasibility study was their misunderstanding was still festering in secret when the Ira Iraq War broke out in the fall of As it David chairman of the joint chiefs of was touring saudi defence installations when Iran and Iraq started bombing each others Oil there was great worry about the threat to the Oil Fields in the Eastern Region of saudi Jones later the saudis asked him on the spot to Send Back some Azacs Jones instantly contacted within president Carter had ordered four of the radome topped Boeing 707s to Fly from Oklahoma to an airbase outside Between regular patrols Over the Oil the air Force found time to mount a vip flight so Jones could demonstrate the Azacs to saudi officials from Prince Sultan on the wizardry of the Azacs surveil Lance gadgets was one princely who Heads an important saudi Security later told a reporter we Hope to buy they Are extremely valuable because they extend our reaction was the background for the message the Cia passed to Carter in november asking for an american Sale of Azacs and other air War the Issue came up the Fol lowing Friday at the regular foreign policy breakfast Between Secretary of state Edmund Muskie and National Security adviser Zbigniew Brown took the Lead and pressed very hard for a positive said one of the Brzezina who had been pushing for Ameri can military facilities in the Gulf re Gion for two sided with Muskie was sceptical but not of Muskie has told friends that he did not View the Azacs As the most sensitive element in the saudi what was really going to be Controvert he was the Long Range fuel tanks and Tanker air planes the saudis wanted As enhancements for their already ordered f15 Carter could have in he decided to approach the incoming Reagan administration with a proposal that he and Reagan would jointly promote the Sale of military equipment to the As Carter envisioned his administration would take the heat from israeli supporters by sending Congress a formal request to sell the equipment to the All Reagan would have to Promise is that he would not with draw the Carter request after Carter put this proposition to Reagan when the two met at the White House on Muskie took it up with Richard reagans interim for eign policy we got an evasive said one High their which was quite was that its our baby and we should handle late in Brown sent the saudis a written it had been drafted by Brown and slightly toned Down by Brzezinski and Carter him As a final a Carter official showed the draft to someone on Rea Gans staff and was told Reagan had no the message was Short of an Ameri can commitment to sell the Azacs but not by in it said the United states would be inclined to consider favourably the saudi request to Purchase the Azacs for delivery after the language was general enough to allow Reagan either to proceed immediately with the Sale or to bargain for a saudi quid pro quo or to stall indefinite Carter has said recently that he intended to sell Azacs planes to the even though he endorsed the rest of the arms pack if Carter was apparently also the victim of a by the accounts of two of his main foreign policy the Brown message contained an unmistakable reference to the Azacs and Carter did not choose to edit it last a senior Reagan administration official justified the rejection of a joint venture on Azacs on the ground that we would have been hard pressed to sell a Carter package to the Reagan was in favor despite reagans pro Isra Al Campaign it took the Rea Gan administration Only a few weeks to conclude that it was in american inter ests for saudi Arabia to have airborne radar surveillance planes perhaps the Boeing made Azacs or perhaps the less capable Grumman but Secretary of state Alexander Haig gravely complicated his even Tual Selling Job by being vague at the wrong in Early he briefed the Senate foreign relations committee about plans to sell some military equipment to the alluding in passing to airborne surveillance when the Azacs Story broke two months some Sena tors claimed that Haig deceived on 20 Haig was similarly vague in previewing the saudi arms package for the visiting israeli foreign Yitzhak the notes kept by a Haig aide show that he mainly Dis cussed f15 and at one Point also said something about Aerial radar but whatever Haig Znamir Shamir also complained that Haig misled when the National Security Council thrashed put the details of the saudi Sale in Haig was the one High official to foresee the looming political defence Secretary Caspar Weinberger is said to have forecast a 6535 vote in favor of the Haig and his vote counters feared the Sale might be the Csc finally endorsed the Azacs Sale in a White House meeting on March a few hours before Rea Gan while the president was still in the his aides brought him a memo about the decision and he quickly approved the news leaked to the newspapers four Days the american Israel Public affairs the registered agent for the state of went to work signing up senators to oppose the Azacs on the other the state and defence departments sent Middle level officials to senators asking them to withhold judgment until the administration could present its Senate majority Leader Howard Baker agreed to Pilot the Azacs Sale through the but he got the administration to agree to delay Send ing Congress the formal it was the first of several each one allowing pro israeli lobbyists More time to sign up on White House the state department refrained from starting its congressional briefings on the Azacs Sale so that the administration could push through its tax Cut program with out dealing with any other Early this Reagan representatives informally approached saudi Prince who was in Washington to Monitor developments for his Prince what the Reagan people wanted to know was whether the saudis would like to delay the Senate debate until they could be sure of the saudi reply was a Flat one source close to the saudi government explained they wanted to test whether the new administration was really ready to take some heat or would Back out the first time it ran into objections from Canon photocopies National cameras Hill concourse store port age main v i 319 Donam Stiv beside Capitol theatre 639 poor Tagoc at Sherbrook i i eyes examined Contact lenses fitted Lexer Lecker optometrists 2nd floor Hurtig 264 Portage 9436628 open to 1 for the Best Valu correction Simpsons ears re Sears steam tic1 and on Page 10 of last saturdays to please note that the Price Section should not have Apas Well As the charge card in we sincerely regret any inconvenience to our so storm i doors Model 200x in your Choice of 14 colors at no extra custom made 12 thick 10 on installed prices Model Mark 3 Grille extra your inside door free with Purchase of a storm asm 10 sa33 a month 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