by Mark Silva
With Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defense Secretary Robert Gates traveling in the Middle East today to convince Egypt and Saudi Arabia of the need to press for greater security in the region, they are bearing significant gifts: A proposed multibillion-dollar arms deal.
The U.S. is offering Saudi Arabia and others at least $20 billion in arms sales over the next decade, while renewing a decade-long pledge for $13 billion for Egypt – and upping U.S. military aid to Israel from $23 billion over 10 years to $30 billion over the next decade.
“We have a long history of security cooperation with the Saudis,” said Tony Snow, the White House press secretary. “What we’re doing is trying to increase the ability of nations in the region to feel more secure.”
“Saudi Arabia has not had the ability at this juncture to manufacture those arms,” Snow said, “and therefore the United States feels it is in our interest.”
Rice and Gates today are pressing Egyptian leaders to do more to stabilize Iraq and counter the rise of Iran.
They arrived at the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh with promises of tens of billions of dollars of military aid they which they contend could help counter the threats of al Qaeda, Hezbollah, Syria and Iran.
“All parties need to really now throw their weight behind this effort for national reconciliation,” Rice said at a news conference with Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit. “It means an intensification of the efforts of those who have influence (in Iraq).”
The two secretaries also will visit Saudi Arabia.
Snow noted later today that the deals are not done, but rather in the proposal stage, and that these are arms sales, not “grants” from the U.S., as he had suggested initially.
