Israel, Saudi Arabia and Egypt are consistently among the top five purchasers of U.S. arms.
A report by the Congressional Research Service published Dec. 20 outlines arms sales, as delivered, since 1999.
It breaks down the years into two sections: From 1999 to 2002, Saudi Arabia led in arms purchased and delivered, at $8.9 billion. Egypt was third with $4.5 billion and Israel was fourth with $3.3 billion. From 2003 to 2006, Israel purchased and received $5.2 billion in arms, making it first and just edging out Egypt at second, with $5.1 billion; Saudi Arabia was third with $4.4 billion.
Secrecy News, a Federation of American Scientists publication, obtained the CRS report. CRS reports, though unclassified, often are difficult to obtain.
