WHITE HOUSE WRESTLES WITH IRAN CRISIS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00965R000605760004-7
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: June 27, 2012
• Sequence Number: 4
• Publication Date: November 17, 1986
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

6 Declassified and Approved For Release 2012/06/27: CIA-RDP90-00965R000605760004-7
X- ART!CLEAPPEARED CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR
White House wrestles with Iran crisis
. Critics say secret US arms deal won't win friends and influence Tehran
BY-
Stan writer of The chrie iu, Science Monitor
vwsNnpan
It is not President Reagan's broad ob-
jective in Iran that is drawing fire but the
methods of achieving it.
Diplomatic experts give the President
credit for publicly recognizing the strate-
gic importance of Iran and seeking to
break the ice of hostility that has sur-
rounded US-Iranian relations ever since
the Islamic fundamentalists came to
power in Tehran. For too long, say knowl-
edgeable observers, the United States has
scorned Iran's revolutionary regime and
wishfully hoped it would turn out to be a
temporary phenomenon.
"Iran cannot be treated as a pariah,'.
says William Quandt, a Mideast specialist
at the Brookings Institution. "Iran must
be pleased that the US is ready for a
better relationship. That was long over-
due."
But, after a massive public relations
effort to defend its secret talks with Teh-
ran over an 18-month period, the White
House has failed to convince members of
Congress or the diplomatic community
that the tactics it employed measured up
to the objective. It is widely charged that
the White House diplomatic overture was
conducted amateurishly and without suf-
ficient understanding of Iranian condi-
tions and psychology.
Diplomats with experience in the Mid-
dle East sa , r. and 's ai es
exercised r jugAm ent in what is now
admitted to have been a e Central
Intelligence Agency operation. They
make ese points:
? It does not make sense for the United
States, as it adjusts its policy toward Iran,
to do it through Israel. What, in fact, was
Israel's role? According to press reports,
the Israelis provided substantial quanti-
ties of arms to Iran in the midst of the
covert talks, appearing to belie the admin-
istration claim that the shipment of US
arms was "miniscule."
Experts say the US could have
approached any number of countries -
Algeria, Turkey, Pakistan - to help open
the channels of communication with Iran.
By using Israel, Washington has strained
its relations with the moderate Arab
states and risked undermining its long-
term strategic influence in the region.
"Using Israel is a great mistake," says
Hermann Eilts, former ambassador to
Egypt. "The Iranian government is
strongly anti-Israeli and the belief that a
few people willing to talk to Israel will
change Iran's objective is short-sighted."
? Making a "downpayment" in arms
shipments is not the best way to begin a
dialogue with an ostensibly hostile state.
The President and his close aides argue
that Henry Kissinger used secret methods
when he opened the door to communist
China. But the US did not provide Peking
with weapons.
In the case of Iran, say diplomatic ex-
perts, the US can enhance its credibility
best by "accepting" the Iranian revolu-
tion. The fact that the Reagan administra-
tion still has a rhetorical stance suggest-
ing that Iran is "beyond the pale" of
civilized nations appears to contradict the
effort to lay the ground for better ties.
Dealing in arms transactions does not en-
hance US credibility, say experts.
? The President's denial to the con-
trary, it still appears the US made an
"arms for hostages" deal with Iran. Suspi-
cion lingers that it was primarily the hos-
tage question that drove the secret mis-
sion of former National Security Advisor
Robert C. McFarlane.
? The supply of "defensive" arms may
not be as innocuous as the White House
says. Among the US arms shipment were
parts for antiaircraft missiles. State De-
partment officials say the only reason
Iran has not launched a major offensive
against Iraq and tried to seize a sizeable
chunk of territory is that its supply lines
are vulnerable to Iraqi aircraft.
"Iran has been poised to win the war
for some time." says a Senate expert. To
say the US has sent a "miniscule" amount
of equipment is misleading, he says. be-
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.2-
cause sometimes just a bolt or hinge can make a plane or
tank operational. "The political implications are incredi-
ble," he adds. If Iran wins the war, he observes, the US
will be blamed because "the entire Arab world is going to
look around and say 'look what America did.'"
? It is a question whether the White House acted
legally, as the President says. Reagan waived an execu-
tive order issued by President Carter prohibiting arms
shipments to Iran. But can he waive the Arms Export
Control Act passed by Congress, a law banning military
exports to countries sponsoring terrorism?
News reports that the White House kept the arms
shipments secret from the Joint Chiefs of Staff as well as
congressional intelligence committees have further
fueled lawmakers' resolve to probe the covert operation.
National Security Advisor John Poindexter said on
NBC's Meet the. Press yesterday that because this was
not a "military situation" it was not unusual that the
Joint Chiefs were not informed.
Admiral Poindexter said the White House was "anx-
ious" to discuss the operation with the appropriate
committees. But he added there are still many details it
wants to keep classified in order to salvage as much as
possible of the channel of communication.
Asked about the state of the remaining American
hostages, Poindexter said, "It's a very iffy situation at
the moment." But, said Poindexter, although chances for
release of the hostages had been damaged, if the situa-
tion in Tehran stablizes it is possible "we can still make
some progress."
He added that he would robabl talk to Congress
/9- only informally, and CIA r William Casey
would formally lay out the administration's position.
Specialists on Iran fault the judgment of the adminis-
tration in attempting secret talks at this particular pe-
riod, when Iran is in the throes of a severe struggle for
political power as the Khomeini era wanes.
"The political situation is tremendously unsettled,"
says William Beeman, an anthropologist at Brown Uni-
versity. "The President talks about 'moderate' factions
in Iran. But a better name would be 'rapacious pragma-
tists.-They are men who will maintain their power at
any cost.... And we do not know where the chips will
fall in another month or two."
Dr. Beeman, a consultant to the State Department at
the time of the. Iranian hostage crisis in the Carter
administration, says that for a decade now the US has
had a tendency to make complicated decisions without
understanding the intricacies of Iranian society
.
"Keeping the communication channel open is one
thing, but I would not enter into a bargaining situation
and try to take sides," says Beeman. The US, he stresses,
is at a gross disadvantage in negotiating with the
Iranians, who he says are clever and often double-
crossing "bazaar merchants."
"If you're going to bargain with them, it's wise to take
another merchant with you," says the scholar.
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