U.S. to sell Egypt missiles despite report of N. Korean deal
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SPECIAL TO WORLD TRIBUNE.COM
Friday, November 30, 2001
WASHINGTON Ñ The Bush administration plans to rebuff an effort in
Congress to stop U.S. plans to sell the advanced Harpoon sea-to-sea missile
to Egypt.
U.S. officials said the administration has determined that the Harpoon
will not change the military balance in the Middle East. They said this
includes the balance between Egypt and Israel.
State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said the Harpoon sale is part
of U.S. efforts to help Egypt expand its capabilities to protect shipping in
the Gulf of Suez. Boucher said the Harpoon is more advanced than previous
systems sold to Egypt and can strike land as well as sea targets.
"The sale of Harpoons is part of an ongoing, longstanding cooperation we
have had with the Egyptian military," Boucher said. "This is a follow-on to
a system that they already have. We have encouraged them to expand their
abilities to protect shipping in the Suez, including U.S. warships that use
that a lot."
Boucher said Secretary of State Colin Powell did not raise with his
Egyptian counterpart reports that North Korea signed a deal to supply Cairo
with No-Dong missiles. The spokesman said the issue was probably discussed
between other U.S. officials and Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher.
On Friday, U.S. administration officials will brief Congress on military
relations with Egypt. This will include reports that North Korea has signed
a deal to supply Egypt with the No-Dong intermediate-range missile.
Deputy Assistant Secretary of State David Satterfeld said the
administration will not suspend plans to sell the Harpoon to Egypt.
Satterfield, who met visting Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher, said the
Harpoon does not threaten the region. The missiles would be deployed on four
fast attack craft built by Halter Marine Inc. of Gulfport, Miss.
Under the deal, the United States would supply 53 Harpoon Block II
missiles to Egypt. Cairo would use some of the $1.3 billion annual U.S.
military aid to Egypt to pay for the missiles.
Pro-Israeli groups have also joined opposition to the Harpoon sale. They
said Egypt has failed the United States as an ally in the aftermath of the
Islamic suicide attacks on New York and Washington on Sept. 11. The groups
also said the Harpoon missile will endanger Israel.
"Congress must stop the Harpoon missile sale to Egypt," the
Washington-based Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs said. "The
United States can no longer afford the luxury of pretending that we don't
understand the political ramifications of our blanket policy of arms sales
to nasty regimes."
Last week, a confidential State Department memo alerted Congress to the
proposed Harpoon sale. Congress has a 30-day period to respond to the sale
and another 30 days to oppose the deal.
Should President George Bush veto the congressional resolution, Congress
would require a two-thirds majority to block the sale. This has never taken
place regarding U.S. sales to Arab allies.
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