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President Trump wants to create an anti-terrorism alliance with Saudi Arabia and other friendly Mideast nations in a pact that White House officials likened to an “Arab NATO,” a new report said Wednesday.
A major part of the plan would be one of the largest arms deals with the Saudis in history, the Washington Post reported.
Team Trump and the Saudis have quietly been negotiating terms of the pact during talks led by Trump senior adviser Jared Kushner and Saudi Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the paper said.
The talks began after the election, when Mohammed, known as “MBS,” sent a delegation to meet with Kushner and other administration officials at Trump Tower.
“They were willing to make a bet on Trump and on America,” a senior White House official told the paper.
The Saudis wanted to boost economic and security cooperation and investment, White House officials said.
Trump wanted the repressive kingdom to beef up the fight against radical Islamic terrorism, specifically ISIS.
The Trump administration plans to make a number of major announcements during the president’s first foreign trip, which begins Friday.
The top objective is to put together a coalition of Sunni countries that would set the stage for the NATO-like organization — even though 22 Mideast nations already form the Arab League.
“We all have the same enemy and we all want the same thing,” the White House official told the paper. “What this trip hopefully will do is just change the environment.”
Other participants could include the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Jordan, with the US offering support but not being a member of the alliance.
“This is the sort of gesture many of America’s security partners have been looking to get from the United States for many years,” Brian Katulis, a senior fellow at the Center of American Progress, told the paper.
“The value of any such a pact would depend on the results it produces — whether it achieves greater stability, helps resolve conflicts like Yemen and Syria, and achieves progress in the fight against terrorist groups across the region.”
The arms deal could be worth as much as $350 billion over 10 years, and would include sales of ships, armored personnel carriers, missiles, bombs and munitions for the Saudi army and navy, officials said.
The sales include huge upgrades for the Saudi army and navy to include Littoral Combat Ships and THAAD missile defense systems, officials said. Some of the production and assembly could be located in Saudi Arabia, boosting MBS’ project to build a Saudi domestic defense industrial capability. But most of the items would be built by American defense contractors.
“The US has sought for a long time to get the Saudis to do more to focus on its navy, to modernize and make the forces in the Gulf more effective,” said Anthony Cordesman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “From the US perspective, the stronger the Saudi deterrent is, the lower the risk of any military confrontation with Iran.”
The pending announcements of the new security framework and the huge arms deal are evidence that the Saudi courtship of the Trump White House has been successful beyond expectations. Whether that results in real stability in the region, real progress against terrorism or real deterrence against Iran depends on what happens after Trump’s overseas trip is over.
http://nypost.com/2017/05/17/trump-wants-to-create-an-arab-nato-in-the-middle-east/
A major part of the plan would be one of the largest arms deals with the Saudis in history, the Washington Post reported.
Team Trump and the Saudis have quietly been negotiating terms of the pact during talks led by Trump senior adviser Jared Kushner and Saudi Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the paper said.
The talks began after the election, when Mohammed, known as “MBS,” sent a delegation to meet with Kushner and other administration officials at Trump Tower.
“They were willing to make a bet on Trump and on America,” a senior White House official told the paper.
The Saudis wanted to boost economic and security cooperation and investment, White House officials said.
Trump wanted the repressive kingdom to beef up the fight against radical Islamic terrorism, specifically ISIS.
The Trump administration plans to make a number of major announcements during the president’s first foreign trip, which begins Friday.
The top objective is to put together a coalition of Sunni countries that would set the stage for the NATO-like organization — even though 22 Mideast nations already form the Arab League.
“We all have the same enemy and we all want the same thing,” the White House official told the paper. “What this trip hopefully will do is just change the environment.”
Other participants could include the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Jordan, with the US offering support but not being a member of the alliance.
“This is the sort of gesture many of America’s security partners have been looking to get from the United States for many years,” Brian Katulis, a senior fellow at the Center of American Progress, told the paper.
“The value of any such a pact would depend on the results it produces — whether it achieves greater stability, helps resolve conflicts like Yemen and Syria, and achieves progress in the fight against terrorist groups across the region.”
The arms deal could be worth as much as $350 billion over 10 years, and would include sales of ships, armored personnel carriers, missiles, bombs and munitions for the Saudi army and navy, officials said.
The sales include huge upgrades for the Saudi army and navy to include Littoral Combat Ships and THAAD missile defense systems, officials said. Some of the production and assembly could be located in Saudi Arabia, boosting MBS’ project to build a Saudi domestic defense industrial capability. But most of the items would be built by American defense contractors.
“The US has sought for a long time to get the Saudis to do more to focus on its navy, to modernize and make the forces in the Gulf more effective,” said Anthony Cordesman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “From the US perspective, the stronger the Saudi deterrent is, the lower the risk of any military confrontation with Iran.”
The pending announcements of the new security framework and the huge arms deal are evidence that the Saudi courtship of the Trump White House has been successful beyond expectations. Whether that results in real stability in the region, real progress against terrorism or real deterrence against Iran depends on what happens after Trump’s overseas trip is over.
http://nypost.com/2017/05/17/trump-wants-to-create-an-arab-nato-in-the-middle-east/
The Arabs are our slaves my friend, and they will go to war with Iran if we tell them too. Iran is smart for not trusting the US Government.
