White House to Notify Congress Soon of $60 Billion Package, Largest Ever for U.S.
The Obama administration is set to notify Congress of plans to offer advanced aircraft to Saudi Arabia worth up to $60 billion, the largest U.S. arms deal ever, and is in talks with the kingdom about potential naval and missile-defense upgrades that could be worth tens of billions of dollars more.
The administration plans to tout the $60 billion package as a major job creator—supporting at least 75,000 jobs, according to company estimates—and sees the sale of advanced fighter jets and military helicopters to key Middle Eastern ally Riyadh as part of a broader policy aimed at shoring up Arab allies against Iran.
Earlier
The talks between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia have been widely known for months, but many new details are only now coming into focus. These include the number and type of aircraft involved, how much the Saudis intend to spend in an initial installment, and the ongoing negotiations to also upgrade the kingdom's navy and missile defenses.
We armed The Shaw of Iran to the teeth. We all know how that turned out. We armed the Afghans against the Soviets. Those weapons ended up in Taliban hands, and are killing Americans as I type. Now our wise leaders are actually considering arming a regime in the country whose oppressive society produced nineteen of the 9/11 terrorists that ended thousands of innocent American lives. Is it so unlikely The House of Saud might also one day fall that we should feel comfortable, or even sane, putting sixty billion dollars of hyper-modern weaponry in a place where it might end up in the hands of those that hate America and all it stands for, and aren't afraid to die to prove it? Say it ain't so, Uncle Sam.
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