WASHINGTON, Aug. 5 (UPI) -- U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice Sunday defended a $20 million arms sale to Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states saying "there's nothing new in this."
"Well, let's remember that the United States has had interesting security cooperation in this region for decades," Rice told Chris Wallace on "Fox News Sunday. "It would make no sense to leave Saudi Arabia or the other Gulf states undefended, incapable of defending themselves or turning to others who might be less reliable in providing for their defense at a time when the security challenges in that region are increasing."
Rice conducted interviews from the Camp David, Md., presidential retreat where she and President George Bush met with visiting Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai.
She said discussions with Karzai centered on the future of Afghanistan, which has received about $14 billion in U.S. reconstruction aid. She told CBS' "Face The Nation," that Pakistani armed forces had "been much more active" on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.
"I am quite certain that if there are high-value targets, that we are all going to do everything that we can to capture or kill them," she said.
