Turkey was second-largest private buyer of US arms in mideast in 2009, according to state dept

Turkey was the second-largest private buyer of US arms in the Middle East and North Africa in 2009, according to State Department figures released over the weekend. The US government approved $40 billion in worldwide private arms sales in 2009, including more than $7 billion to Mideast and North African nations that are now struggling with political upheaval, the State Department reported. Iraq, which US forces are still withdrawing from as the fledgling government is struggling against militants, was the biggest buyer ($1.51 billion), closely followed by Turkey ($1.50 billion) and the United Arab Emirates ($1.09 billion). Turkey also remains one of Washington's largest clients in terms of arms sales. In September 2009, the Obama administration notified Congress of a possible $7.8 billion sale of Patriot PAC-3 antimissile batteries and related gear to Turkey, a transaction that would be one of the biggest US government-to-government arms sales in years. Turkey also sought six Predator unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and two armed versions of the Predator UAVs, also known as Reapers, last year from the US.