INTERVIEW-German official slams U.S. Middle East military aid
31 Jul 2007 16:41:10 GMT Source: Reuters
By Markus Krah BERLIN, July 31 (Reuters) - A U.S. plan to give more than $43 billion in military aid to some of its Middle East allies will not help bring democracy and stability to the region, a senior German foreign ministry official told Reuters on Tuesday. Washington announced the aid package for Egypt, Israel, Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states on Monday in an attempt to bolster allies in the region against Iran and others. Karsten Voigt, foreign ministry coordinator for German-American relations, said the Middle East did not need more arms to secure peace and he doubted the deal would check Iran's power. "The region is not suffering from a lack of arms but from a lack of stability," Voigt said in an interview. "I have strong doubts whether stability could be achieved with these weapons." Washington is trying to assure Gulf allies, worried by the growing strength of Iran and by the war in Iraq, that the United States is committed to the region and will stand by them, and the arms package is part of that process, U.S. officials say. The plan to upgrade Saudi Arabia's missile defences and air force and to boost its navy is at odds with U.S. plans to nurture democratic standards in the region, Voigt said. "The U.S. said a couple of months ago the main problem in the region was the lack of democracy," he said. "I do not know how one can support democracy by supplying weapons for Saudi Arabia, which is anything but a very democratic country." Voigt's criticisms of the U.S. plans echo those of some other German officials, including Ruprecht Polenz, the head of parliament's foreign affairs committee and member of Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative party. The proposed packages still have to be approved by Congress and there is expected to be opposition from some lawmakers, particularly to aid for to Saudi Arabia, which some accuse of not being helpful to the U.S.-backed government in Iraq.
