Anyway, Nice to See You

A Weinberger trip yields no deals but mends some fences

The U.S. Defense Secretary, Caspar Weinberger, visited the Middle East last week, carrying with him a sheaf of proposals aimed at strengthening Washington's ties with moderate Arab states. His main port of call was Saudi Arabia, where he spent four days in talks with the influential Crown Prince Fahd, Defense Minister Prince Sultan and Foreign Minister Prince Saud al Faisal. By the time Weinberger left the country, after a negotiating session that lasted almost all night, the principal mystery was why it had taken him and the Saudis so long to agree to so little.

At an airport press conference, Weinberger announced that the U.S. and Saudi Arabia had agreed to establish a "joint committee for military projects," a sort of study group on defense matters. Exactly what it would study was not clear. But Prince Sultan, who attended the press conference, quickly observed that the relationship between the two countries was "not based on cooperation in the field of military endeavor." Replied Weinberger: "His Highness is, of course, correct."

Military cooperation between Washington and Riyadh is, in fact, severely lacking. The Saudis do not wish to become overly identified with the U.S. plan to build a Rapid Deployment Force to oppose Soviet expansion in the Persian Gulf, and they are especially reluctant to allow the U.S. to build bases on Saudi territory. Weinberger offered last week to help the Saudis and the smaller gulf states build a regional arms industry, but the proposal seems to have gone unheard. Weinberger did not even announce that the letters of agreement for the $8.5 billion Saudi purchase of U.S. AWACS radar warning planes had been signed, although he had been expected to do so. Presumably the Secretary once again urged Fahd to visit Washington, a trip the Crown Prince has canceled twice during the past year, but there was no hint that Fahd intended to accept the invitation in the near future. The basic problem, as always, was the Saudi view that the U.S. must take a "stronger stance" against Israel, in pursuit of a Middle East peace.

After a quick stop in Oman, Weinberger flew on to Amman for a talk with Jordan's King Hussein, an old U.S. ally whose friendship has been waning since the signing of the Camp David accords 3 1/2 years ago. The U.S., which has long been Jordan's principal arms supplier, has recently been concerned about Hussein's decision to order 320 SA-6 surface-to-air missiles from the Soviet Union. Even though that deal has already been made, Weinberger tried to sell the King on the idea of buying the U.S.-built Hawk missile, and added that the Reagan Administration was prepared to consider a Jordanian request to purchase advanced F-16 fighter planes. The King seemed interested. The suggestion obviously displeased the Israelis, who were not on Weinberger's itinerary this time, but it undoubtedly assuaged any feelings of neglect that Hussein may have been harboring. The Secretary's trip may not have produced any tangible diplomatic agreements, but as an exercise in fence mending, it appears to have been a modest success. qed

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