The sale, which had been expected, includes 84 Boeing F-15 fighter jets and 70 upgrades of existing Saudi F-15s.
It also includes 70 of Boeing's Apache attack helicopters and 36 AH-6M Little Birds, lightweight helicopters often used in special operations.
Under the deal, Saudi Arabia also has the option to buy 72 Black Hawk helicopters built by Sikorsky Aircraft, a unit of United Technologies Corp.
Al Jazeera's John Terrett, reporting from Washington said "the Saudi's are not getting what Israel already has, and that is the F-35, or Joint Strike Fighter, the newest aircraft out there."
"The US congress now has 30 days to block the deal, and if they don't, then formal negotiations about the delivery date will open up." Shapiro said the total value of the package would not exceed $60bn, although he emphasised that Saudi Arabia may not choose to exercise all of its purchase options during the programme, which will last from 15 to 20 years. Alexander Vershbow, the assistant secretary of defence for international security affairs, said the US had discussed the matter with Israel, and concluded that it would not undercut Israel's qualitative military edge in the region."We have consulted with Israel as this sale has taken shape [...] based on what we've heard at high levels, Israel does not object to this sale," he said.
Vershbow and Shapiro both stressed that bolstering Saudi Arabia's own defence capabilities would improve US security in a vital part of the world where fears are growing over Iran's nuclear programme.
"This is not solely about Iran," Shapiro said. "It's about helping the Saudis with their legitimate security needs [...] they live in a dangerous neighbourhood and we are helping them preserve and protect their security."
"The State Department is spinning things very carefully, putting the emphasis on jobs, because this is going to preserve hundreds of thousands of US defence jobs at companies like Boeing and UTC," our correspondent reported from Washington.
Vershbow said the sale would improve Saudi Arabia's ability to co-ordinate with the US on shared security challenges "so it means we may have to station fewer forces on a continuing basis in the region".
US and international concern about Iran's growing military capability includes advances in a nuclear programem the West believes is aimed at developing atomic weapons - accusations Tehran denies.
Washington has also flagged concern about Iran's growing missile capabilities and has been helping Arab states boost their missile defences.That includes the expected sale of the THAAD missile defence system manufactured by Lockheed Martin Corp to the United Arab Emirates. Similar talks are underway with Saudi Arabia.
US officials are also discussing a possible deal to upgrade Saudi Arabia's navy, which one official estimated could be worth an additional $30bn.
Saudi Arabia vs. Iran
ReplyDeleteSunni Vs. Shia.
Divide and conquer.
I dont know the answers- But dam! I keep finding more questions:(
ReplyDeleteIn the beginning as I was first wandering through my mind, lost and alone I new something was calling, but I knew not what. September 11 only made my initial feelings more felt... In the first few seconds of the second plane hitting that tower- I just knew it was a fraud! Before this occurance I had witnessed the fools father do the same manipulation of our minds by assaulting Kuwait. I remember in the lead up to the Kuwait war seeing ( only once was it shown) a map of Iraq and Kuwait showing this huge lake of oil under the ground. A small percentage of which was on Kuwait soil. Check the history to see when Kuwait was formed? I believe that the Iraqies realized they had been duped and the burning of the oil wells & the ensueing war was a direct result of the realization that they where being taken for fools as their god given bounty of natural resource (look at the everyday life of a Saudi because of the countries natural resources) had and is being stolen from under their noses. After the excuse to attack Iraq for the second time is sold to our guilible minds- The real reason became clear. Afghanistan is one of the last un-mined countries in this world. It is a country of mountains and in-hospitable regions, not ideal for industrial mining. But it is also a bountiful collection of the worlds natural riches, from uranium, gold diamonds to oil and god knows what. As the natural resources are being eaten by the commercial foolishness of our culture we are more and more dependant on renewing the feast at all costs. And I am a Catlic-Buddist by nature so I cannot begin to agree with mans greed and reasoning. As A by-product, upstairs so to speak- It is a little known fact that the crop for opium- or the base supply for Heroin was 10 times as large in the seasons after the occupation.
I will leave my thoughts here a while....
* Afif Sarhan in Basra
ReplyDelete* The Observer, Sunday 30 March 2008
* Article history
It took eight years for Nur Muhammad, 35, finally to fall pregnant with the child she desperately wanted. Last week, Ali, her pride and joy, became the youngest victim of the upswing in violence.
The four-month-old baby boy fell ill last Monday with a fever, the day fighting broke out in Basra, the second-biggest oil city of Iraq. The street where the family lives became a battlefield, imprisoning them in their home, unable to get help.
'The disease spread so fast. My husband tried to leave our home to look for help but he was shot in his leg in front of our house,' Muhammad said. 'My only child was seriously sick and I also had to look after my injured husband. I was forced to use a knife sterilised with a lighter to take the bullet from his leg.'
No one was able to reach the house with medicine or food until Friday afternoon. Ali had died in the morning. 'It took me a few hours to realise my son had become an angel. He was shining and had a smile on his face,' she said. 'I waited all my life to have my baby and now a ridiculous political fight for supremacy took him away from me.'
Muhammad, tears streaming down her hollow cheeks, was in deep shock. 'I don't have a reason to live anymore. My husband threatened to divorce me if I didn't give him a child and now I doubt he will stay married to me now that Ali has been taken.'
Anon:
ReplyDeleteWell said.
When it comes to the Iraq/Kuwait green light all one has to do is google April Glaspie. It was another set up by the Masters of War.
Masters of War?
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWxBrI0g1kE
Anon, I notice that Russia helped ISAF with heroin raids in Afghanistan this morning. A sinister alliance ,but their claim of seizing 'a ton of heroin', even if true, shows them up for the clowns they are. A grain of sand in the desert.
ReplyDeletePeace
T