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TechnoratiU.S. Set to Offer Huge Arms Deal to Saudi Arabia
WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration is preparing to ask Congress to approve an arms sale package for Saudi Arabia and its neighbors that is expected to eventually total $20 billion at a time when some United States officials contend that the Saudis are playing a counterproductive role in Iraq.
The proposed package of advanced weaponry for Saudi Arabia, which includes advanced satellite-guided bombs, upgrades to its fighters and new naval vessels, has made Israel and some of its supporters in Congress nervous. Senior officials who described the package on Friday said they believed that the administration had resolved those concerns, in part by promising Israel $30.4 billion in military aid over the next decade, a significant increase over what Israel has received in the past 10 years.
But administration officials remained concerned that the size of the package and the advanced weaponry it contains, as well as broader concerns about Saudi Arabia's role in Iraq, could prompt Saudi critics in Congress to oppose the package when Congress is formally notified about the deal this fall.
In talks about the package, the administration has not sought specific assurances from Saudi Arabia that it would be more supportive of the American effort in Iraq as a condition of receiving the arms package, the officials said.
The officials said the plan to bolster the militaries of Persian Gulf countries is part of an American strategy to contain the growing power of Iran in the region and to demonstrate that, no matter what happens in Iraq, Washington remains committed to its longtime Arab allies. Officials from the State Department and the Pentagon agreed to outline the terms of the deal after some details emerged from closed briefings this week on Capitol Hill.
The officials said Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, who are to make a joint visit to Saudi Arabia next week, still intended to use the trip to press the Saudis to do more to help Iraq's Shiite-dominated government.
"The role of the Sunni Arab neighbors is to send a positive, affirmative message to moderates in Iraq in government that the neighbors are with you," a senior State Department official told reporters in a conference call on Friday. More specifically, the official said, the United States wants the gulf states to make clear to Sunnis engaged in violence in Iraq that such actions are "killing your future."
In addition to promising an increase in American military aid to Israel, the Pentagon is seeking to ease Israel's concerns over the proposed weapons sales to Saudi Arabia by asking the Saudis to accept restrictions on the range, size and location of the satellite-guided bombs, including a commitment not to store the weapons at air bases close to Israeli territory, the officials said.
The package and the possible steps to allay Israel's concerns were described to Congress this week, in an effort by the administration to test the reaction on Capitol Hill before entering into final negotiations on the package with Saudi officials. The Saudis had requested that Congress be told about the planned sale, the officials said, in an effort to avoid the kind of bruising fight on Capitol Hill that occurred in the 1980s over proposed arms sales to the kingdom.
In his visit with King Abdullah and other Saudi officials next week, Mr. Gates plans to describe "what the administration is willing to go forward with" in the arms package and "what we would recommend to the Hill and others," according to a senior Pentagon official, who conducted a background briefing on the upcoming trip with reporters on Friday.
The official added that Mr. Gates would also reassure the Saudis that "regardless of what happens in the near term in Iraq that our commitment in the region remains firm, remains steadfast and that, in fact, we are looking to enhance and develop it."
The $20 billion price tag on the package is more than double what officials originally estimated when details became public this spring. Even the higher figure is a rough estimate that could fluctuate depending on the final package, which would be carried out over a number of years, officials said.
Worried about the impression that the United States was starting an arms race in the region, State and Defense Department officials stressed that the arms deal was being proposed largely in response to improvements in Iran's military capabilities and to counter the threat posed by its nuclear program, which the Bush administration contends is aimed at building nuclear weapons.
Along with Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates are likely to receive equipment and weaponry from the arms sales under consideration, officials said. In general, the United States is interested in upgrading the countries' air and missile defense systems, improving their navies and making modest improvements in their air forces, administration officials said, though not all the packages would be the same.
Ms. Rice is expected to announce Monday that the administration will open formal discussions with each country about the proposed packages, in hopes of reaching agreements by the fall.
Along with the announcement of formal talks with Persian Gulf allies on the arms package, Ms. Rice is planning to outline the new agreement to provide military aid to Israel, as well as a similar accord with Egypt.
The $30.4 billion being promised to Israel is $9.1 billion more than Israel has received over the past decade, an increase of nearly 43 percent.
A senior administration official said the sizable increase was a result of Israel's need to replace equipment expended in its war against Hezbollah in Lebanon last summer, as well as to maintain its advantage in advanced weaponry as other countries in the region modernize their forces.
In defending the proposed sale to Saudi Arabia and other gulf states, the officials noted that the Saudis and several of the other countries were in talks with suppliers other than the United States. If the packages offered to them by the United States are blocked or come with too many conditions, the officials said, the Persian Gulf countries could turn elsewhere for similar equipment, reducing American influence in the region.
The United States has made few, if any, sales of satellite-guided munitions to Arab countries in the past, though Israel has received them since the mid-1990s as part of a United States policy of ensuring that Israel has a military edge over its regional rivals.
Israeli officials have made specific requests aimed at eliminating concerns that satellite-guided bombs sold to the Saudis could be used against its territory, administration officials said.
Their major concern is not a full-scale Saudi attack, but the possibility that a rogue pilot armed with one of the bombs could attack on his own or that the Saudi government could one day be overthrown and the weapons could fall into the hands of a more radical regime, officials said.
Copyright 2007 The New York Times Company
18 Comments so far
Show AllIf my country
bombs for peace (Iraq)
pollutes for power (America)
poisons to control (Colombia)
and
profits from death (EVERYWHERE)
Why should I support it? Is your SUV and tv worth this?
Peace to you and yours.
Notice how the title only says Saudi Arabia and not "and Israel".
Why do we call these two nations our allies when they both cause such a mess in the region?
The real story is how WE AMERICANS are arming ALL THREE SIDES fighting each other in Iraq, the Lebanese Army in their "war" against certain Palestinians (but not for use against the Israelis who continue to impose their military will with arms WE AMERICANS supplied,) and every side in the battle royal formerly known as Africa.
And why do the Saudi Arabian Dictators need our God-blessed help? Because their 1500 tanks, 300+ planes, 20 missile ships and six subs, not to mention the latest and greatest in gear, intel tech and training simply isn't enough to keep them safe from their own people who hate them for decades of oppression and wanton decadence.
We're number 1!
Considering the instability in the region, this seems like pouring gasoline on a fire, unless that is what they intend to do.
It never ceases to amaze me how these guys can screw things up and then propose something that will make it even worse. It is as if they have no shame, conscience nor contrition.
This is how it works, for all sides in all wars on the planet. For instance, the US government takes $30 billion from its taxpayers, gives it to the arms industry and tells them to send advanced weapons to Israel. The profits go to the Carlyle Group et al., and back to the Cheney/Bush gang (and the rest of the arms merchants).
The United States Government authorizes the arms industry to sell $30 billion worth of arms to Saudi Arabia (they can afford to pay for it) and the profits go to the Carlyle Group, et al., and back to the Cheney/Bush gang (and the rest of the arms merchants).
If either side decides to use the weapons, such as Israel in Lebanon, they are encouraged to fire away, and still more of our money is given to the arms merchants to resupply Israel. The profits go to the Carlyle Group, et al., and back to the Cheney/Bush gang (and the rest of the arms merchants).
Is a pattern beginning to appear here? Of what use peace? There is much more profit in replacing expended munitions than there is in selling refrigerators and stoves.
MountainMike July 29th, 2007 11:57 am
"The obvious question........ is "how can we be sure these weapons will not be turned against us?"
We can't be sure!
"....the Pentagon is seeking to ease Israel's concerns over the proposed weapons sales to Saudi Arabia by asking the Saudis to accept restrictions on the range, size and location of the satellite-guided bombs, including a commitment not to store the weapons at air bases close to Israeli territory, the officials said."
This is too funny!
Once they have these proposed weapons and perceive a threat, do you think "restrictions" will carry any weight, especially when they have the resources to hire people who are capable of altering these weapon systems?
Just two comments:
1) it is nonsense to say that the Republicans are not in power or conversely that the Democrats are in power. Basically what we have is a stalemate. Neither has power or can do anything unless they can get crossover party votes.
In the House where Democrats could at least do something like impeach the VP and P, they still have to get votes to convict. They have the power to start and that would satisfy me but so far they have been political hacks of the same stripes as the Republican "led" Congress.
2) Who in the hell makes money from selling arms- the U.S. government, or the same U.S. and European Companies that are promoting this and every other war? No mention is made in this article about the money and who stands to benefit cash-wise from this deal. Why? Because we are being smokesreened with rhetoric and prejudice to get us to focus either on not trusting or favoring Saudis, or not trusting and favoring Israel. Meanwhile the money keeps being directed somewhere. Follow the money!!!!!!!!
I have two main issues with this, that it is AID instead of an arms deal and we are not learning from our past mistakes in the mideast.
We initially supported the Shah of Iran with weaponry, all of this fell into the hands of the new fundamentalist Moslem regime. Then we gave Saddam weapons to attack Iran. We also have Osama weapons to fight the Soviet Union in Afghanistan. The obvious question from this experience is "how can we be sure these weapons will not be turned against us?"
The Saudis are trillionaires with no need for aid from any country. I could say that this makes as much sense as the Bush Republicans giving ExxonMobile corporate welfare. Saudis buying their own weapons makes much more sense that the US government basically borrowing money from Asian Banks to give away to one of the richest countries on earth.
I'm not sure if I believe this article. Why would the Bush administration charge the poor brave Saudis for their God given right to defend themselves.
You can bet if the Know-Nothing Republicans were still in power the middle class tax payers would be footing the $20,000,000,000. bill, I'm sorry I mean our tax paying grandchildren.
So what? At least the Saudis pay for their weapons. The U.S. is giving (translation: on the U.S. taxpayers'tab) 30 billion dollars worth of armaments to Israel.
The Saudi elites have invested around 1 trillion dollars in the US economy. So, their special treatment is not surprising.
Though, I can't help but mention that both the Bush family and the Bin Laden family are heavily invested in the Carlyle Group (thecarlylegroup.com), which is the 4th largest defense contractor in the world. Doubt that has nothing to do with big Saudi defense purchases...
ezeflyer - Some of the 9/11 terrorists of the official version of events, who came from Saudi Arabia, turned up alive and asking, "Why the heck is my name on that list?"
We are fighting ourselves in Iraq; and we're losing.
The Iraqis can't stand up because the U.S. is slow following through with weapons deals, but there are weapons for Saudi Arabia. What gives? To me, it looks like Bush is giving Saudi Arabia an invitation to invade Iraq.
It's still about the oil and the money that the Bush crime family gets from the Arabs.
The majority of jihadists the world over are Saudi. The huge gap between the ruling royal family and the people of Saudi Arabia facilitates extremists. The United States in their foreign policies and generalized support of Saudi Arabia fuels extremism.
Lucky thing the 9/11 terrorists weren't from Saudi Arabia. Wait a minnit...
"The Bush administration is preparing to ask Congress to approve an arms sale package for Saudi Arabia and its neighbors that is expected to eventually total $20 billion"
I wonder who are the neighbors?
Again we are seing the military/industrial complex as its best. Fueling wars around thew globe and selling them our main industry, arms.
We are Merchant of Death.
Now what could $50 billion in US taxpayer money do to help this country? Oh, wait a minute. This country was built on and credited with VIOLENCE so in the name of spreading faux "democracy", the ideology of VIOLENCE goes with it. Just another way to FUCK the planet to DEATH !