A file photo of Saudi police graduates
attending a graduation ceremony in Riyadh June 26, 2007. The Bush
administration is preparing to ask Congress to approve arms sales totaling
$20 billions over the next decade for Saudi Arabia and its neighbors.
(Xinhua/Reuters Photo)
WASHINGTON,
July 28 (Xinhua) -- The United States will announce next week a series of arms
deals worth at least 20 billion U.S. dollars with Saudi Arabia and five
other oil-rich Persian Gulf states as well as new 10-year military aid packages
to Israel and Egypt, the Washington Post reported Saturday.
The purpose of the military aid packages and arms
sales is to strengthen pro-Western countries against Iran's growing influence in
the region, the report said.
The arms deals, which include the sales of a variety
of sophisticated weaponry, would be the largest negotiation by the Bush
administration.
The military assistance agreements would provide 30
billion dollars in new U.S. aid to Israel and 13 billion dollars to Egypt
over 10 years.
The two figures represent significant increases in
military support, the newspaper quoted unidentified U.S. officials as saying.
The arms deals have quietly been under discussion for
months despite U.S. disappointment over Saudi Arabia's failure to support the
Iraqi government and to bring the country's Sunni Muslims into the
reconciliation process.
U.S. officials said the arms sales to Saudi Arabia
are expected to include air-to-air missiles as well as Joint Direct Attack
Munitions, which turn standard bombs into "smart precision-guided bombs".
Most, but not all, of the arms sales to the six Gulf
Cooperation Council countries -- Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait,
Qatar, Bahrain and Oman -- will be defensive, the officials said.
