US to beef up Iraq with arms sale: report

US President George W. Bush issued a memorandum Wednesday to the State Department that formally allows Iraq to receive material, service and assistance from US arms makers under the Foreign Assistance Act and the Arms Export Control Act.

"I hereby find that the furnishing of defense articles and services to Iraq will strengthen the security of the United States and promote world peace," Bush said in the document.

The United States will rely on the Foreign Assistance Act and the Arms Export Control Act in making Iraq eligible for arms sales on a case-by-case basis, the report said.

The Bush administration has cleared the way to sell arms to Iraq just as it does to other allies, local media said.