Word: embargoing
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...most momentous votes in this session of Congress, and the outcome was excruciatingly uncertain until the very last minute. Nearly every member-413 out of 435-turned up to cast a vote on President Carter's request to end the 42 month-old U.S. embargo on arms for Turkey. The ban had infuriated the Turks and weakened the southern flank of NATO. Whether or not Carter would succeed in persuading Congress to lift the embargo was seen as a major test for his Administration...
Republican backbenchers started chanting: "Tip! Tip! Tip! Tip!" They were daring Speaker of the House Thomas ("Tip") O'Neill to break the tie and rescue the President, his fellow Democrat. But O'Neill remained silent, doing nothing. Not only was he deeply committed to the embargo but also he was furious at the Administration for the dismissal of his old friend, Robert T. Griffin, from the General Services Administration. Other Democratic leaders, however, were frantically mobilizing support-for opposite sides. Indiana's John Brademas, the Democratic whip and a leader of the pro-Greek lobby, was fighting...
...jeers, laughter and applause, the tally shifted again: 207 to 205. The pro-Carter forces finally had taken the lead, and after one more member's yes, the chairman brought down his gavel with a whack and declared the final vote: 208 in favor of lifting the embargo, 205 against...
Despite the narrow margin, it was clearly a major victory for President Carter's foreign policy. Since the Senate had voted one week earlier to lift the embargo, full-scale arms transfers to Turkey can resume shortly. The embargo originally had been imposed to pressure the Turks to withdraw their troops from Cyprus, which they had invaded in 1974 to protect the island's Turks from the Greek majority. But the arms ban accomplished little except to damage Turkey's ties to NATO and aggravate the country's domestic political instability...
Carter's victory in the Senate is only half the battle. The same issue comes up this week in the House, where the top leaders favor the embargo. Speaker Tip O'Neill has characterized his position on the issue as "up to the knees in cement." An Administration aide cautions: "It's winnable. But we don't have the votes...