-Caveat Lector- From http://www.middleeastwire.com/atlarge/stories/20010924_5_meno.shtml }}}>Begin Middle East-At-Large Bush Opens Arsenal To Middle East Defense News Posted Monday September 24, 2001 - 10:58:01 AM EDT Hoping to cement a counter terrorist coalition with arms deals, U.S. officials willurge lawmakers to approve weapons sales to three Middle Eastern nations and areconsidering lifting arms embargoes on two south Asian countries. State Department officials hope to convince lawmakers to lift temporary restrictionson at least four pending sales: Lockheed Martin Corp.'s F-16 C/D fighter jets to Oman; F-16 Block 60 fighters to the United Arab Emirates (UAE); the Lockheed Martin 277mmMultiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) to Egypt; and another unspecified sale to Egypt,government and industry sources said. Meanwhile, the White House may exercise its right to temporarily lift arms sanctionsimposed in the early 1990s on Pakistan and Indonesia. Pakistan's F-16 fighters, C-130transport planes and P-3 patrol aircraft all manufactured by Bethesda, Md.-based Lockheed Martin -- are in dire need of spare parts, which the U.S. government stopped providing after Pakistan built nuclear weapon components in 1990. A former Pakistani ambassador to the United Kingdom said that the offer of military aircraft spare parts is militarily modest but symbolically significant. "On one level, if the military aid is limited to aircraft spare parts, then obviously there is a limited use for them. However, it does open up military aid from America," said Akbar Ahmed, now a professor at American Uni versity here, in a Sept. 20 interview. "This is very important. It is symbolic because by doing this America is also making India unhappy. Secondly, it opens the possibility of getting a more a bit later." Lincoln Bloomfield, assistant secretary of state for p olitical and military affairs, has asked to meet with congressional staff in this week. Bloomfield is expected to pressure Congres s to release its hold on the proposed Middle Eastern arms sales and to alert professional s taff to the U.S. administration's intent to send spare parts to Pakistan and Indonesia in exchange for diplomatic and military support, according to government and industry sources. "I wouldn't be surprised if they decide to utilize waiver authority to propose spare- parts sales to those countries," a congressional aide said Sept. 20. Patricia Scott, a State Department spokeswoman, declined comment. Congressional aides say they are concerned with the security implications. "We have got to start buying off everyone we can at this point," another congressional aide told Defense News Sept. 21. "God help us if [Egyptian President Hosni] Mubarak falls or gets shot, because every weapon we ever s old to him will be used against us." Hesitation by lawmakers may send diplomatic tremors through th e Middle East, analysts said. "Any congressional objections to military sales to the region at this time will be unhelpful to the United States. It will cause panic in the region. It would send a wrong signal and have a negative impact on Arab relations with the United States," said Mounzer Sleiman, a Middle East military analyst based in Washington. Bush is expected to have significant influence with Congress in relaxing restrictions on arms sales to the Middle East and Southeast Asia, one Pentagon official told Defense News Sept. 21. "At this point, the administration needs all roadblocks eased so that it can build a coalition," the official said. "Ensuring support from Egypt and Oman is key to this effort, and the administration is seeking the suppor t of Congress as part of this." The administration must notify Congress - especially the House International Relations Committee an d the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which have oversight duties - before approving a rms export deals. Although Congress has no immediate authority to block proposed exports, it can often delay them for long periods. Asad Hayauddin, spokesman for the Pakistani Embassy here, said Islamabad will not request aid. "We have not made any sort of requests, either financial or military, because we realize at this time the situation is such that it would be in extremely bad taste," he told Defense News. Richard Kirkland, vice president of international programs for Lockheed Martin here, said his company is prepared to provide spare parts to Pakistan and Indonesia upon government approval. "We're ready to go," he told Defense News Sept. 20. Discussions with the Pentagon about Oman's F-16 C/D purchase were completed the second week of September, a Middle East official here familiar with the purchase told Defense News. The official said he did not expect any problems with congressional approval. Requested in March, the F-16 C/D planes do not use any particularly sensitive technologies or weapons, he said. © 2001 Defense News. This news item is distributed via Middle East News Online (MiddleEastWire.com). End<{{{ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Forwarded as information only; no endorsement to be presumed + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without charge or profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this type of information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + The only real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes. -Marcel Proust + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + "Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe simply because it has been handed down for many generations. 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