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US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has begun her tour of the Middle East alongside Defence Secretary Robert Gates amid controversy over Washington's plans for a military aid surge in the region. If the plans are approved by congress, various states in the region will see a dramatic increase in military aid, with Israel, Saudi Arabia and Egypt benefiting most.

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SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt, July 31 (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defence Secretary Robert Gates arrived in Egypt on Tuesday with promises of weapons for allies in the Middle East, saying this would help counter al Qaeda, Hezbollah, Syria and Iran.

Rice and Gates, who are also due to visit Saudi Arabia, planned to urge their Arab friends to do more to help the United States over Iraq but dismissed suggestions arms worth tens of billions of dollars were a quid pro quo to get that assistance.

The military aid package on offer to Egypt is $13 billion over 10 years, the same level as for at least the last six years. But Washington is offering Israel an increase of about 25 percent -- to $30 billion over the next 10 years.

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Originally posted by AURaptor:
Seems to be the standard operating proceedure for State Dept. suits. Russia sells arms to Iran, so we HAVE to sell arms to Iran's neighbors.

Right ?

Not so sure I agree with that reasoning.

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Originally posted by Fletch2:
It's a bribe.

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