Source:
Boston Globe(snip)
WASHINGTON -- The State Department and the Pentagon are quietly seeking congressional approval for significant new military sales to US allies in the Persian Gulf region. The move is part of a broader American strategy to contain Iranian influence by strengthening Iran's neighbors and signaling that the United States is still a strong military player in the Middle East, despite all the difficulties in Iraq.
But the arms sales, which would come on top of a recent upgrade of US Patriot antimissile interceptors in Qatar and Kuwait and the deployment of two aircraft carriers to the Gulf, could spark concerns that further military buildup in the volatile region would bring Washington closer to a confrontation with Iran.
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The arms sales are a Cold War-style geopolitical maneuver designed to isolate Iran by arming its neighbors against a perceived common threat.
"We should look at this in the broader context of what Secretary
Rice calls the looming confrontation between extremists and moderates," Stephen D. Mull , the State Department's acting assistant secretary of political-military affairs, said in an interview. "We are on record as saying Syria and Iran sponsor these forces."
The move could be an economic boon for New England, which manufactures some of the weapons systems that are believed to be under consideration for sale.
The current arms sale proposals grew out of a diplomatic effort launched last May called the "Gulf Security Dialogue," in which US officials sought to suggest ways to bolster the defenses of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Oman.
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My comment: Why do I picture this 'diplomatic effort' that these proposed sales 'grew' out of like a scene from a mob movie with some thug who stired up neighborhood trouble in the first place strong arming a mark into buying protection.
Read more: http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2007/03/21/us_looks_to_sell_arms_in_gulf_to_try_to_contain_iran/