http://www.jpost.com, Jordan's acting army chief met a senior U.S. military official Wednesday, two weeks after this Arab kingdom said it had reached an advanced stage in a deal to buy U.S.-made air-to-air missiles for warplanes.
The missile deal, which Israel has objected to, would see Jordan acquire AMRAAM missiles, which accurately find a target before being fired.
The official Petra news agency reported Maj. Gen. Saoud Inseirat, the Jordanian acting chief of staff, met with Lt. Gen. Lance Smith, the deputy commander of the U.S. Central Command, in the Jordanian capital, Amman.
Petra only said both men discussed “several issues of mutual interest,” without providing other details.
Jordanian and U.S. Embassy officials were not immediately available for comment.
Two weeks ago, Jordan announced it had reached an advanced stage in the deal to purchase the missiles from America.
Israel has asked the U.S. Congress to delay approving the deal, fearing its military advantage in the Middle East could be diminished if Arab states obtain the missiles.
In early August, the U.S. State Department defended the prospective missiles deal with Jordan, a key U.S. Arab ally and a moderate nation described as a stabilizing force in a region ravaged by the war in Iraq and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Department spokesman Adam Ereli added, however, that Washington would be careful to maintain Israel's military edge over the combined forces of Arab nations.
Ereli called the deal a potential one, but noted that the Bush administration had not formally notified Congress of a plan to go ahead with it.
Israeli officials have said they would settle for a compromise making it technologically impossible to aim the missiles at Israel or a pledge that the weapons would not be sold to Egypt, and Israeli security official has said.
Like with Jordan, Israel and Egypt have a peace agreement, but officials said Israel is concerned about Egypt's “arms race.”
It was the first time Israel has tried to prevent Jordan from buying U.S.-manufactured arms since the two neighbors signed a peace treaty in 1994.
