Huge US Arms Deal for Saudi Dictatorship

(image: stillnessinthestorm.com)

According to Reuters, the White House “is close to completing a series of arms deals for Saudi Arabia totaling more than $100 billion, a senior White House official said on Friday, a week ahead of President Donald Trump’s planned visit to Riyadh.”

The Saudi dictatorship is one of the world’s most ruthless, repressing its own people, terror-bombing Yemen, blockading its coastline to prevent vital humanitarian aid from reaching starving, ill and injured civilians.

According to an unnamed White House source, the arms deal could exceed an astonishing $300 billion over the next decade.

It has nothing to do with “boosting (the kingdom’s) defensive capabilities,” as Reuters reported – everything to do with enriching US war-profiteers, regardless of the cost in human lives and misery.

“We are in the final stages of a series of (arms) deals,” the US source said. America is the world’s leading merchant of death and destruction, arming Israel and other rogue states, waging war in multiple theaters, responsible for millions of casualties post-9/11 alone, escalating conflicts instead of ending them.

On May 19, Trump heads for Riyadh, the first stop on his foreign trip, the Saudi deal expected to be finalized ahead of his arrival.

America and Britain are Riyadh’s main arms and munitions suppliers. Trump deplorably calls selling destructive weapons a way to boost economic growth and create jobs.

According to Reuters, the Saudi deal includes arms, ships, missile defense and maritime security – “a very substantial commitment,” the US source said, adding:

It’s “intended to build capabilities for the threats they face” – despite Riyadh facing none. “It’s good for the American economy, but it will also be good in terms of building a capability that is appropriate for the challenges of the region. Israel would still maintain an edge.”

The region’s challenges alone include America’s presence, Israeli belligerence, brutal dictatorships like the Saudis, and terrorist groups they support.

Trump’s visit to Riyadh, Israel, Brussels to meet with NATO leaders, and Sicily for a G7 summit will do nothing to advance world peace and stability, everything to continue imperial wars.

Trump To Approve Massive Weapons Sale To Saudi Arabia

February 9, 2017   |   admintam

(ANTIWAR) According to officials familiar with the process, President Trump is expected to quickly approve massive weapons sales to both Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, deals which had been on hold over growing concerns about human rights abuses by both nations.

The White House did not discuss the matter directly, saying the final announcement isn’t made yet, but the reports say that a $300 million Saudi missile technology sale and a multi-billion dollar warplane deal for Bahrain are both expected to get imminent clearance from the administration.

Human rights groups had been attacking the Obama Administration for years over such sales, calls which grew with the Saudi war in Yemen and the huge civilian death toll that followed. In the final few months of his administration, Obama was slowing some of the sales.

The expectation now, however, is that the Trump Administration is interested in getting the large sales on the books quickly to talk up their ability to keep getting large weapons contracts for key US arms makers. This could force human rights groups trying to limit the use of US weapons in committing war crimes to start from square one with the new administraiton.

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This article (Trump To Approve Massive Weapons Sale To Saudi Arabia) by Jason Ditz, originally appeared on AntiWar.com and was used with permission. Anti-Media Radio airs weeknights at 11pm Eastern/8pm Pacific. If you spot a typo, email edits@theantimedia.org.