Originally published by the Voice of America (www.voanews.com).
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August 16, 2007

US Boosts Military Aid to Israel
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http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=18B8608:A6F02AD83191E1602C7B7C247AF4649F9574F7DCC14957C0 Agreement for $30
billion over next 10 years - a 25 percent increase over current
package

The United States has boosted military aid to Israel. As Robert Berger
reports from VOA's Jerusalem bureau, the increase points to growing
American concerns over the burgeoning power of Iran.







Nicholas Burns, center, Bank of Israel Governor Stanley Fischer, left,
and Aharon Abramovitz during a news conference in Jerusalem, 16 Aug
2007Israel and the United States signed an agreement for $30 billion
in American military aid to Israel over the next 10 years. That is an
increase of 25 percent over the current package. U.S. Undersecretary
of State Nicholas Burns spoke at a ceremony in Jerusalem.

"The United States of course understands that Israel lives in an
increasingly dangerous region," he said.

Burns said the aid is meant to strengthen Israel against a growing
strategic threat from Iran.

"The United States and Israel and many of our friends in the Arab
world face a situation where Iran is resurgent, where Iran is seeking
a nuclear weapons capability, where it's seeking to expand its
conventional power," he added.

Burns accused Iran and Syria of destabilizing the region.

"There is now a nexus of cooperation among Iran and Syria, Hezbollah,
Palestinian Islamic Jihad and other groups who are responsible for the
conflicts in this region, and Iran and Syria in particular funding and
arming those groups that are terrorist in nature," he said.

The $3 billion annual package will maintain Israel's status as the
biggest recipient of U.S. military aid, followed by Egypt which
currently gets $1.3 billion a year. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert
has said the increase in aid will guarantee Israel's strategic
superiority in the Middle East, despite upgrades to America's Arab
allies.

In part, the increased U.S. aid to Israel is meant to offset a major
American arms deal with Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states, worth $20
billion over the next 10 years.


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