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Thursday, August 2, 2007

Administration asks $13 billion in military aid for Egypt

WASHINGTON — The Bush administration has unveiled a $13 billion arms package for Egypt.

The package includes advanced weapons and platforms supplied to the Egyptian military over the next decade, officials said. They said Israel would receive $30 billion in U.S. military aid while Egypt would receive $1.3 billion annually over the next 10 years, Middle East Newsline reported.

"This effort will help bolster forces of moderation and support a broader strategy to counter the negative influences of Al Qaida, Hizbullah, Syria, and Iran," Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Monday. "We plan to consult closely with Congress and our allies on the specifics of these agreements."

Ms. Rice said the United States would also provide billions of dollars worth of weapons to Saudi Arabia and the five other Gulf Cooperation Council states. The secretary, in an announcement made before her departure for the Middle East, did not elaborate.

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Ms. Rice, along with Defense Secretary Robert Gates, left for Egypt and Saudi Arabia. The secretary of state, blaming Iran and Syria for an escalation of tension in the Middle East, said the arms package would not alter the strategic balance in the Middle East.

"Further modernizing the Egyptian and Saudi Armed Forces and increasing interoperability will bolster our partners' resolve in confronting the threat of radicalism and cement their respective roles as regional leaders in the quest for Middle East peace and in ensuring Lebanon's freedom and independence," Ms. Rice said.

The Bush administration did not specify the weapons offered to Egypt or Saudi Arabia. But officials said they would include advanced fighter-jets, precision-guided munitions, naval platforms and missile defense systems.

"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," Ms. Rice said.

A senior defense official said Saudi Arabia would be the biggest beneficiary of the U.S. weapons package. The official said the United States plans to enhance the eastern fleet of the Royal Saudi Navy, sell the PAC-3 missile defense system as well as radars, the Joint Direct Attack Munition, and systems to counter Iran's weapons of mass destruction threat.

"It's a very broad package," the official said.

Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns, who plans to tour the Middle East in August, said the administration would require six weeks until it releases the final draft of the arms sales package. Burns said the arms sales would consist largely of defensive weapons.

"The majority of what we are planning with these countries are defensive systems, not offensive systems," Burns said. "We do not have a price tag and are not able to give you a number."

Congress has been skeptical of the administration plans to supply advanced weapons to Saudi Arabia. Several House members said they would introduce a resolution to block the deal.

"The folly of this arms deal is beyond belief," Rep. Jerrold Nadler, a New York Democrat, said. " Saudi Arabia is the number one exporter of terrorism in the world today. They are not our friends. We cannot trust how they will use their arms. We don't have to give them high-tech weapons which may be turned against our friends or us."

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