Hussein Says U.S. Snubbed Arms Deal

LONDON —  President Reagan’s failure to persuade Congress to sell new arms to Jordan is a blatant snub that seriously threatens the relationship between the two nations, King Hussein said in an interview published Tuesday.

In the April 5 edition of Jane’s Defense Weekly, Hussein said that the Administration’s decision in February not to press for congressional approval of the package signaled, “as far as we are concerned, almost the termination of our relations with the U.S.A., a relation which has seen the U.S.A. supply us with military equipment for the last 28 years.”

The king lamented what he described as the “inability of the President to meet his commitments to us” through the failure to gain congressional approval for the supply of “critical items that we need for our legitimate self-defense.”

The package included advanced fighter aircraft as well as Hawk and Stinger anti-aircraft missiles and Sidewinder air-to-air missiles.

“Sensible working relations can continue between my country and the United States, but such relations will, of necessity, be limited in view of this recent snub.”