No-Win Battle Over Saudi Arms

Reagan vetoes Congress's bid to block a $354 million package

On entering the Senate chamber shortly before 4 p.m. last Wednesday, White House Courier Tim Saunders suddenly became the Invisible Man. Not that anyone actually failed to see him, or to guess what he was carrying in a manila envelope decorated with the White House seal. With Saunders in plain view, Majority Leader Robert Dole archly informed fellow Senators that Ronald Reagan had vetoed an attempt by Congress to block a sale of arms to Saudi Arabia, and * "somewhere there is a messenger who has that information." But the moment Saunders' presence was officially acknowledged, the veto would become the...

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