Jordan Receives U.S. Military Aid

Jordan received $100 million worth of military equipment from the United States on Saturday as part of aid pledged after the kingdom signed a peace treaty with Israel.

King Hussein, who commands the Jordanian armed forces, and senior military officials inspected the equipment as it was being loaded off the USS Cape Wrath.

Hussein said the American donation is a “firm and true indication of the fact that we are friends and that we stand together.”

The pledge of military aid following Jordan’s October 1994 peace treaty with Israel was seen as restoring the kingdom into Washington’s good graces after a rift triggered by Jordan’s perceived tilt towards Iraq during the 1990-91 Persian Gulf crisis.

The equipment included 18 UH-1H helicopters, 50 M60A3 TTS tanks, 250 M1008 and M1009 trucks, two 40-foot MK-4 personnel boats and a 65-foot air-sea rescue vessel.

The aid is part of $300 million pledged by the United States to help Jordan modernize its 100,000-strong armed forces.

The remaining $200 million worth of 16 F-16 jet fighters will be delivered to Jordan by the end of 1997.