Obama woos Iran, but Gates urges Gulf neighbors to build deterrence with U.S. weapons
Wednesday, September 9, 2009 E-Mail this story Free Headline Alerts
WASHINGTON — The administration of President Barack Obama has embarked on a reconciliation dialogue with Teheran while urging surrounding nations to focus on military strength.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates urged Arab neighbors and other Middle East states to bolster their militaries. Addressing the Arab world, Gates said rearmament could deter Iran from advancing in its nuclear weapons program. Officials said Gates and other senior administration officials assured Arab allies that they would gain access to advanced U.S. weapons, including missile defense systems, amid the emerging Iranian nuclear threat.
"The more that our Arab friends and allies can strengthen their security capabilities, the more they can strengthen their cooperation, both with each other and with us, I think this sends the signal to the Iranians that this path they're on is not going to advance Iranian security but in fact could weaken it," Gates said.
The officials said Gates's appeal signaled a U.S. policy to expand defense exports to Gulf Cooperation Council states and other Arab allies of the United States.
In a Sept. 8 interview with Qatar's A-Jazeera television, Gates said the United States has sought to develop a diplomatic rather than a military option toward Iran. But the U.S. defense secretary urged GCC and other Arab countries to bolster military deterrence in an effort to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.
"One of the pathways to get the Iranians to change their approach on the nuclear issue is to persuade them that moving down that path will actually jeopardize their security, not enhance it," Gates said.
In contrast, Gates ruled out a U.S. military option against Iran. He said the United States has determined that Iran, despite the support by such allies as China and Russia, remained vulnerable to international pressure.
"Our view is that there is still an opportunity for diplomacy and political and economic pressures to bring about a change of policy in Iran, so getting into hypotheticals about military reaction, I think doesn't take us very far," Gates said.
The defense secretary did not report the amount of U.S. arms sales to the Gulf. But he disputed a report by A-Jazeera that Washington has sold $100 billion worth of weapons to the six GCC states.
The Congressional Research Service, in a report released in September 2009, reported continued growth in U.S. weapons sales, particularly to the Gulf. In a report titled "Conventional Arms Transfers to Developing Nations," CRS, citing major deals with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirats, reported weapons sales to the Middle East and other developing nations at $29.6 billion in 2008.
Despite the lack of a U.S. military option, Gates said he envisioned a regional security regime that could eventually deter Iran. He cited the development of neighboring Iraq, where the United States plans to withdraw at least 80,000 troops by August 2010.
"I think that a strong and democratic Iraq, particularly one with a multi-sectarian government, becomes a barrier to Iranian influence and not a bridge for it," Gates said.