WASHINGTON, July 30, 2007
U.S. Touts Arab Arms Sales Package
Rice Says Huge Bump In Military Sales To Arab Nations Will Boost Security In Iraq And Persian Gulf
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Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice began a four-day tour of the Persian Gulf region Monday to promote a multibillion-dollar military sales package for Arab nations. (AP)
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Embarking on a four-day tour of the region with Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the proposed U.S. package, estimated at up to $20 billion, "will help bolster forces of moderation and support a broader strategy to counter the negative influences of al Qaeda, Hezbollah, Syria, and Iran."
"We are helping to strengthen the defensive capabilities of our partners, and we plan to initiate discussions with Saudi Arabia and the other Gulf states on a proposed package of military technologies that will help support their ability to secure peace and stability in the Gulf region," she said in a statement.
The new sales to Arab countries, notably Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states, were not enumerated but will be mainly defensive and be balanced with a more than 25-percent increase in military aid to Israel over the next 10 years, enabling the Jewish state to keep its qualitative military edge over neighbors with which it has no peace deal.
Israel will receive a total of $30 billion in U.S. military assistance, up from about $24 billion, while Egypt, which along with Jordan has made peace with Israel, will get $13 billion as part of the broader package.
Specific figures for Saudi Arabia and Gulf nations like Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, will be determined in the coming weeks, according to Under Secretary of State Nicholas Burns, Washington's third-highest ranking diplomat, who will travel to the region in mid-August for follow-up talks.
Rice said she and Gates, who leave for the Middle East on Monday, would open discussions on specifics on their trip going through broad outlines of military shopping lists with the governments involved. Any sales would have to be approved by Congress, where some lawmakers have expressed deep concerns about their impact on the region and Israel.
In 1986, congressional disapproval helped persuade the Reagan administration to cut back an arms package to Saudi Arabia.
In response to initial news reports about the proposals late last week, Rep. Tom Lantos, D-Calif., said that he and others wanted assurances that "these arrangements include only defensive systems" and rejected arguments by some in the administration that Arab states would acquire the weaponry from other countries if not the United States.
"There is no merit to the general argument that if the United States does not sell arms to these countries, they will go elsewhere and we will lose influence in the region," he said in a statement.
In a Monday conference call with reporters, Burns noted that Israel had on Sunday reversed long-standing opposition to boosting Arab military might and said it understood the rationale behind the plans, chiefly the threat posed by Iran, its alleged drive to develop nuclear weapons and support for terrorist groups.
"The Iran element is one factor, it's not the overriding factor in why we're doing this," and the administration would have pursued such sales even if Iran were not perceived by its neighbors as a significant threat, he said.
At the same time, he put the possible threat from Iran in stark terms.
Across the region, "there is a high degree of concern about Iran's quest to become a nuclear weapons power but also about fact that as you know Iran has armed and funded most of the Middle East terrorist groups," Burns said.
Iran's foreign ministry spokesman on Monday criticized the planned arms sales, saying they would undermine security in the Middle East.
"What the Persian Gulf region needs is stability and security," Mohammad Ali Hosseini was quoted as saying on the Web site of the state broadcasting company. "Americans have been trying to disturb it by selling weapons to the region."
The intended military sales were announced as Washington renews appeals for countries in the region to support its efforts in Iraq and the Iraqi government. Burns denied that the proposed packages were meant to buy backing for Iraq.
"There are no formal quid pro quos in this, but it figures that we would want our friends to be supportive of Iraq," he said.
At the same time, Burns said the sales will help maintain a "very strong American presence and influence in the region" at a critical time.
© MMVII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Best-selling author Mitch Albom on his first nonfiction work since "Tuesdays with Morrie."
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See all 394 CommentsWe are arming the Saudis.
The Saudis, then arm the Sunnis.
The Sunnis use the arms to kill Americans.
The administration dares to accuse people who question their policies of aiding the enemy, while they provide them arms. That takes big brass ones.
I can just see these Muslim leaders and clerics laughing behind mosque doors saying what fools we are and how easily influenced and stupid our leaders are.. hasn't all this been done before with Bush senior???
All these countries would then just take OUR money to buy OUR arms. Wouldn't this make the region MORE dangerous, the opposite of what we supposedly want?
But then the defense contractors wouldn't be making off with billions of U.S. taxpayers' money. NOW it makes perfect sense.
Posted by RandalDS at 12:08 AM : Jul 31, 2007
Of course you weren't aware because you lack insight remember. LOL
But what I meant was can you stop you snubbed nosed posting but I see you don%u2019t get it and now you%u2019ll probably reply with more of the same.
More weapons, more war, more hate, more violence. Higher stock prices for the War Machine corporations.
Who needs $20 Billion for health, peace, justice. What a waste that would be.
That's right. No numbers identified for Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.
THis news story is a Trojan Horse.
Are you done agreeing with me, because I'm ready to move on?
Posted by red164 at 12:00 AM : Jul 31, 2007
I'm stopping you? I wasn't aware I had that power over you or I would have used it sooner....believe me...I would have.......
Are you done agreeing with me, because I'm ready to move on?
Another day on the RandalDS comment board, of course Marx was bright and my implication that your not stands..
Posted by red164 at 11:46 PM : Jul 30, 2007
Yes Marx was a genius in many ways and as for your implication, you've not shown it by your comments or mine.
Another day on the RandalDS comment board, of course Marx was bright and my implication that your not stands..
-How idiot she can be! How can she breath after lying such as this? ... is she kind of possessed by the 'evil devil'?
Posted by grazinggoat at 11:25 PM : Jul 30, 2007
The only "huge bump" Condi knows anything about is the lump that lays down on top of her late at night whenever she and Little Georgie are alone at Camp David. Her "man" tells her what to say (after his puppet master Cheney tells him) and she's goes out and repeats it without thinking. She's become a true female republican...an airhead who says and does what her "guy" tells her to.
You don't have the insight to be compared to Orwell but you accept the comparison to Marx minus the IQ.
Posted by red164 at 11:26 PM : Jul 30, 2007
I disagree with your comment about what you perceive as lack of insight because I would posit that I'm simply over your head. As is obvious by the fact the I made no direct mention of the IQ portion of your original comment, but merely thanked you for the general comparison. I also commented on Marx's genius, which should have been a clue to you that I was going to let your insult about IQ pass.
Missed that did you?
You don't have the insight to be compared to Orwell but you accept the comparison to Marx minus the IQ.
Rice Says Huge Bump In Military Sales To Arab Nations Will Boost Security In Iraq And Persian Gulf'
-How idiot she can be! How can she breath after lying such as this? ... is she kind of possessed by the 'evil devil'?
Posted by red164 at 11:06 PM : Jul 30, 2007
I prefer to think of myself as the new George Orwell, though no one else is as talented as he was. However thanks for the comparison to Marx. he was a genius in many ways and far ahead of his time. Of course he did have problems factoring in the human/criminal element, but then no one is perfect. Still I don't believe in reincarnation myself either. It has a "religious" tone about it that never sat well with me.
Posted by ConDumism at 10:49 PM : Jul 30, 2007
The only argument I have with that statement is that it should read International Military Industrial Complex, because these war contractors are about as unAmerican as they can get, just like Bush and Cheney are internationalists first too and would (and have) pis*s on the American flag and the American people if it turned them and their friends a profit. They don't give a rat's as*s about this country or the people in it. All they're loyal to is their twin gods or money and power and that's all. The funny part is that they've even convinced the Christian right wing in this country that they're Christian themselves, but unless Christ is on the million dollar bill they're falling down on their knees in front of the wrong idol. They're evil, one might even say they're false Prophets and their followers are dangerously stupid.
$30 Billion in arms for Isreal who armed every dictator & terrorist in Central America, also the worlds 4th largest weapons exporter.
Some Faamily Values Bush -- Our own children need the money to pay for good schools & health care
RandalDS I don%u2019t believe in reincarnation but if it ever happened you%u2019re the new Liberal Karl Marx without the IQ.
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