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Trump strikes arms deal with Saudis worth $350bn, $110bn to take effect immediately‘Shooting blanks’: Trump’s $110bn arms deal with Saudis mostly speculative – report
Published time: 9 Jun, 2017 02:43Edited time: 9 Jun, 2017 10:22
© Jonathan Ernst / Reuters
That $110 billion arms deal President Donald Trump signed with Saudi Arabia isn’t much of a deal at all, according to reports which found the majority of the agreement was based on memos, rather than contracts.
On May 20, Trump negotiated an arms deal with Riyadh. The State Department said it was worth nearly $110 billion to support “the long-term security of Saudi Arabia and the Gulf region in the face of malign Iranian influence and Iranian related threat.”
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Trump strikes arms deal with Saudis worth $350bn, $110bn to take effect immediately
White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer hailed it the “largest single arms deal in US history.”
The State Department then released a general list of the weapons that were included in the deal. However, many experts have said that most of the arms sales had not been cleared by the State Department, Congress or even the industries themselves.
On Thursday, Defense News released a more detailed list of the weapons included in the deal, according to documents they obtained from the White House.
The ‘deal’ lists $84.8 billion under memos of intent (MOI) “to be offered at visit,” and $12.5 billion under letters of agreement (LOA), rather than contracts.
NPR also obtained a list of commercial deals from a White House spokeswoman and found that it added up to $267 billion, but said most of the deals were listed as “memoranda of understanding” (MOU).
“There is no $110 billion deal,” Brookings Institution Senior Fellow Bruce Riedel wrote in blog post Monday.
“Instead, there are a bunch of letters of interest or intent, but not contracts,” Riedel said. “Even then the numbers don’t add up. It’s fake news.”
Defense News listed many of the weapons and systems in the deal, which they said were “potential” sales. One of the most expensive component of the ‘deal’ was for seven THAAD batteries, worth $13.5 billion. The estimated delivery time for the systems was between 2023 and 2026.
Riedel says although the Saudis have expressed interest in the systems for years, no contracts have been finalized. He also said that former President Barack Obama approved the sale in principle at a summit in 2015.
Most of the deals were negotiated by former President Barack Obama, according to Riedel. He calls the deal a “wish list” and claims the Saudis will not be able to pay for the $110 billion deal, since they are currently struggling to meet the payments on a 2012 arms deal, due to falling oil prices.
“What the Saudis and the administration did is put together a notional package of the Saudi wish list of possible deals and portray that as a deal,” Riedel said.
The list from Defense News also contains four new Lockheed Martin-built frigates, worth $6 billion. The estimated delivery time for the frigates is between 2025 and 2028.
However, Riedel said that the proposal for those frigates was first reported in 2015, and no contract has been signed. He also claims the frigate is a derivative of a vessel that the Navy uses which “doesn’t actually exist yet.”
The list from Defense News also contains 150 S-70 Black Hawk utility helicopters, but Riedel says that this deal is also “repackaged” from the Obama administration.
Trump said the deal created “tremendous investments in the United States,” according to The Hill. He also promised “jobs, jobs, jobs” to come as a result.
The Saudi government said that the 150 Black Hawk helicopters would be assembled locally, leading to about 450 jobs being created in the Kingdom. Not so, according to Arab News.
The list from Defense News also contains $4.46 billion for more than 100,000 air-to-ground munitions, $2 billion for “light close air support,” $2 billion for four additional aircraft “of a to-be-determined variety,” $6.65 billion for enhancements to Saudis’ Patriot anti-missile system and $800 million for two “Remote Sensing Satellites.”
Edited time: 20 May, 2017 17:49
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US President Donald Trump (L) and Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud, Riyadh May 20, 2017. © Mandel Ngan / AFP
In his first overseas trip as president, Donald Trump sealed an arms deal with Saudi Arabia worth $350 billion over 10 years, with nearly $110 billion to take effect immediately. The agreement is said to bolster security “in the face of Iranian threats.”
"This package of defense equipment and services supports the long-term security of Saudi Arabia and the Gulf region in the face of malign Iranian influence and Iranian related threats. Additionally, it bolsters the Kingdom's ability to provide for its own security and continue contributing to counterterrorism operations across the region, reducing the burden on US military forces," the US Department of State said in a statement on Saturday.
Beyond $109b in military sales, @potus deal w US & Saudi Arabia incs another $250b commercial investment creating hundreds of 1000s US jobs
— Sean Spicer (@PressSec) May 20, 2017
US President Donald Trump, along with US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who is accompanying him on the trip, attended a signing ceremony for almost $110 billion worth of defense capabilities to be conveyed to Saudi Arabia, effective immediately.
“This package demonstrates the United States’ commitment to our partnership with Saudi Arabia, while also expanding opportunities for American companies in the region,” the statement read.
The deal also “potentially supports tens of thousands of new jobs in the United States,” it added.
The “intended sales” include deals in five categories that include border and coastal security, cybersecurity, air force modernization, as well as air and missile defense, the State Department announced.
Tanks, artillery, helicopters, light close air support, intelligence-gathering aircraft, and systems such as Patriot and THAAD are just a few among a large list of weapons and machinery to be sold to Riyadh.
“Offers of extensive training” are also included in the package.
Speaking at a news briefing, Tillerson said the deals send a "strong message to our common enemies." The US Secretary of State also told the media that a centerpiece of Trump's visit to Saudi Arabia is to curb any threats to the region allegedly posed by Iran, AP reported.
Leaders of the two countries also discussed fighting "extremism and terrorism" in the region, including in Yemen and in Syria. Speaking at a joint meeting with Tillerson, Saudi Arabia's foreign minister, Adel al-Jubeir, said the ties between Riyadh and Washington would help "drain the swamps" from where the threat "emanates."
The series of agreements inked provide for a “total value of investments... in excess of $380 billion," Adel al-Jubeir told reporters.
The US president himself has only briefly commented on his first day in the Saudi Arabian capital. He said the deals he had inked would lead to "tremendous investments" in the US, and create "jobs, jobs, jobs," as quoted by AP.
Reports of Washington and Riyadh engaging in talks over multi-billion arms deals emerged earlier in May.
The arms package includes a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile defense system from Lockheed Martin, similar to the one being made operational in South Korea, which costs around $1 billion, Reuters reported earlier, citing unnamed sources within the administration.
A software system, a package of satellite capabilities, as well as fighting and artillery vehicles are also reportedly part of the negotiations. More than $1 billion worth of munitions, including armor-piercing Penetrator Warheads and Paveway laser-guided bombs made by Raytheon, might also be included in the package.
https://www.rt.com/news/389061-trump-saudi-arms-deal/
https://www.rt.com/news/389061-trump-saudi-arms-deal/
Signing ceremony of the deal.. the details are being worked out.. it is clear and simple..
