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WORLD / Middle East
US to curb Iran with Gulf army deal
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2007-07-29 09:00
WASHINGTON - The United States will announce next week a series of arms
deals worth at least 20 billion U.S. dollars with Saudi Arabia and five
other oil-rich Persian Gulf states as well as new 10-year military aid
packages to Israel and Egypt, the Washington Post reported Saturday.
A file photo of Saudi police graduates attending a graduation ceremony in
Riyadh June 26, 2007. The Bush administration is preparing to ask
Congress to approve arms sales totaling $20 billions over the next decade
for Saudi Arabia and its neighbors, The New York Times reported in
Saturday editions. [Reuters]
The purpose of the military aid packages and arms sales is to strengthen
pro-Western countries against Iran's growing influence in the region, the
report said.
The arms deals, which include the sales of a variety of sophisticated
weaponry, would be the largest negotiation by the Bush administration.
The military assistance agreements would provide 30 billion dollars in
new U.S. aid to Israel and 13 billion dollars to Egypt over 10 years.
The two figures represent significant increases in military support, the
newspaper quoted unidentified U.S. officials as saying.
The arms deals have quietly been under discussion for months despite U.S.
disappointment over Saudi Arabia's failure to support the Iraqi
government and to bring the country's Sunni Muslims into the
reconciliation process.
U.S. officials said the arms sales to Saudi Arabia are expected to
include air-to-air missiles as well as Joint Direct Attack Munitions,
which turn standard bombs into "smart precision-guided bombs".
Most, but not all, of the arms sales to the six Gulf Cooperation Council
countries -- Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar,
Bahrain and Oman -- will be defensive, the officials said.
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