European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 20, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Ike sfas 1942-1992 50 years of service vol. 51, no. 3 350 monday april 20,1992 d 8693 secret arms sales . Funnelled weapons to Iraq via saudis files say by the los Angeles times Washington a the Bush and Reagan administrations secretly allowed saudi Arabia to provide american made weapons to the iraqi regime of Saddam Hussein and other nations Over a period of almost 10 years in Covert operations designed to sidestep Legal restrictions imposed by Congress according to classified documents. Among other Materiel the saudis transferred an undisclosed number of 2,000-Pound,  bombs to Iraq in 1986 and after the end of the persian Gulf War last year allowed Syria and Bangladesh to take  weapons according to classified documents and inter views. The transfers were made with Wink and nod approval from the White House beginning in the mid-1980s and continuing until last year documents and sources close to the affair made Clear but Congress was not notified. Under the Federal arms Export control act the president is required to notify Congress when a foreign nation transfers american supplied arms to a third country without formal . Authorization. Congress can retaliate by cancelling future arms sales to the country or taking other punitive Steps. Congress was not told about a number of the arms transfers by saudi Arabia sources say. But classified government documents show that this notification was not provided because Reagan and Bush administration officials feared that it would Lead to congressional opposition and upset other pending proposals for arms transfers to saudi Arabia itself. Two administration officials acknowledged that the Transfer of . Arms and spare parts to Iraq by saudi Arabia in the 1980s was part of a Covert policy by the Reagan and Bush administrations to Arm Iraq. Under the policy . Arms were sent to Arab allies who transferred them to Iraq. The officials who spoke on the condition their name see arms on Page 2proud Spain awaits visitors to expo 92 Seville Spain apr thousands of workers put the finishing touches sunday on the pavilions of expo �?T92, the Day before King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia were scheduled to open the largest Universal exposition in history. For Spain the launching of the six month expo �?T92 is evidence that the country has moved out of its underdeveloped past and jumped into the High tech future. Starting today spaniards Hope the whole a it Spain world will see How far 1111 f Madrid they have come on the. 500th anniversary of Columbus arrival in the new world and Espelt so Ville scially their Progress democracy High Speed train that connects Seville with Madrid. A if the expo in addition to being a Good Universal exposition a of which there is Little doubt a achieves a transcendence beyond 1992, it will have been a great Success for spaniards Tel pais said. A we have to bet it  the Effort has not been without setbacks however nor is Success assured. Eta the group waging an armed Campaign for Independence for the three province Northern Basque Region has declared expo �?T92 a military target. The government has deployed 10,000 Security personnel to guard the site plus thou since democracy returned after dictator Francisco Francois death in 1975. A the initiatives of �?T92 constitute a sign of social political economic and cultural change brought about by the Spanish citizenry in the last 15 years a the editors of Al pais the country a leading daily newspaper wrote sunday. With 110 exhibitors and 531 acres of innovative pavilions the last Universal exposition of the 20th Century promises to have something for everyone including the impoverished Southern Andalusia Region that is playing Host to the show. Spain invested $10 billion in roads Bridges and other infrastructure for expo �?T92, including construction of the ave a a amps Sands More to protect the ave. Another 30,000 will be on hand at the Sites of the summer olympics which begin july 25 in Barcelona. But during preparation for expo �?T92, the most devastating threats came from within. On feb. 18, a fire gutted expo 92�?Ts flagship the discovery Pavilion. On Friday a Blaze destroyed much of the South Pacific islands Pavilion. The . Pavilion has also been beset by troubles mostly criticism that the exhibition with its geodesic dome and original example of the Bill of rights makes the United states seem More like a country in decline than an innovator for the future. But criticized or not the . Pavilion was scheduled to open today. Break time at mount Etna sgt. Leslie Hoggard right of Mitchell ind., and Chi. . Bender of Nashville tenn., take part in a snowball fight near Sicily a mount Etna on saturday. Fog heavy rain and Snow kept the troops who Are with the 24th Marine expeditionary unit out of Camp Lejeune n.c., from progressing with work to erect barriers on Europe a most Active  plane could be cause of strange rumblings los Angeles a done to blame Mother nature for the mysterious rumblings that have shaken California five times since june. Experts say the culprit May be a speedy spy plane the air Force says does no to exist. San Gabriel Valley residents the latest group to report a rumble believed they Felt a minor earthquake thursday morning. But seismologists at the . Geological Survey in Pasadena said their instruments did no to Register an earthquake. They said the shaking was caused by a sonic Boom from an aircraft flying Over the Valley. A fall i can say is that its something that a travelling through the atmosphere at several times the Speed of sound a said Jim Mori a seismologist with the . Geological Survey in Pasadena. Analysts from Jane a defence weekly the London based military periodical said the rumble could have been caused by a top secret new spy plane called the Aurora which reportedly flies at about 4,000 Mph. Jane a editor Bill Sweetman said the plane could be part of the defense departments a a Blacks programs a top secret projects with funding disguised in the procurement budget As a selected  the air Force denies that any such aircraft exists. The mysterious rumblings Felt from los Angeles county to Yuba county North of Sacramento Hae occurred five times since june always about 7 a m on thursdays. Seismologists said the aircraft leaves a distinct signature on the Seismograph and it is unlike any plane they know. A we know its not say the space shuttle whose w ase forms look different a Mori said. Sweetman said experts know the Aurora exists be cause of an accidental reference on a 1980 defense department budget report that listed the plane next to the sr-7 Blackbird am the i1-�?T, both of which Aie spa planes