Mideast key focus of U.S. arms sales boom

Beirut, Lebanon (UPI) Sep 14, 2012 Amid the rising tensions in the Middle East, with the United States locked in a Persian Gulf confrontation with Iran, the U.S. defense industry tripled its global arms sales to a record $66 billion in 2011. Half of that went to Saudi Arabia to counter the Islamic Republic. A recent report by the U.S. Congressional Research Service said the 2011 figure.