U.S. To Sell Arms To Saudi Arabia

The Bush administration has decided to supply billions of dollars in advanced new weapons to Saudi Arabia, other Arab allies of the United States and to Israel, senior State Department officials and congressional aides said Friday.

The arms and aid package, which the officials said is to be announced on Monday, is part of a U.S. initiative to reassure worried allies in the Middle East that despite its troubles in Iraq, the United States remains committed to the region. It also is meant to send a signal of resolve to Iran's increasingly confident leaders.

The package also will include new weapons for the United Arab Emirates, another U.S. ally in the Persian Gulf, and both military and economic support to Egypt. Other details of the proposed arms sales weren't immediately available Friday.

Although it's likely to be controversial, the administration has decided to proceed with the sale and will compensate Israel — which seeks to maintain a "qualitative military edge" over its Arab neighbors — with military upgrades of its own, the officials said.

"All that has been sorted out," said a senior State Department official.

Israel has asked for access to the Air Force's most advanced fighter jet, the F-22 Raptor, and its stealth technology, which makes the aircraft more difficult to see on radar.

OK so lets examine this travesty in some detail. We are going to basically supply the whole region with weapons. Saudi Arabia is the country of origin of most of the suicide bombers within Iraq and is the known supplier of arms and money for the Sunni insurgents. Why would we even consider selling them any weapons? Money my friends, money. Now do you really feel safer?

How do we appease Israel for arming their neighbors, we arm them as well. This is foreign policy Bush style. Think of it this way, you look outside and see two neighborhood children fighting. The normal response would be to go and break up the fight. The Bush response to that same situation would be to go outside and give each of them a gun. When will this country demand their removal from power. They have destroyed our reputation and now want to arm the Muslim world. The same world they say is responsible for global terrorism. The war on terror just took on a whole new meaning.