BUSH AND SARKOZY CLOSING IN ON IRAN

SOS/AP:

France will set up a permanent military base of up to 500 troops in the United Arab Emirates, the French government announced Tuesday during a visit by President Nicolas Sarkozy.

The military base deal will make France one of the first Western countries other than the United States to have a base in the Persian Gulf region. The presence would give Paris the ability to project its forces into a crucial oil-producing region where many countries are wary of Iran's rising influence.

NYITMES:

The Bush administration said it would sell 900 sophisticated satellite-guided missiles to Saudi Arabia as part of a $20 billion arms sale intended to bolster military relations with Saudi Arabia and other Persian Gulf states and counter the rising influence of Iran.

The missile deal, valued at $123 million, was a mostly symbolic gesture...

WE ARE PUTTING ALL THE PIECES IN PLACE...