MIDDLE EAST:: With $30 Billion Arms Deal, U.S. Bolsters Saudi Ties – NYTimes
By MB Snow at December 29, 2011 | 11:00 am | Print
HONOLULU — Fortifying one of its crucial allies in the Persian Gulf, the Obama administration announced a major weapons deal with Saudi Arabia on Thursday, saying it had agreed to sell F-15 fighter jets valued at nearly $30 billion to the Royal Saudi Air Force.
The agreement is part of a broader 10-year, $60 billion arms package for Saudi Arabia that Congress approved a year ago. But its timing is laden with significance, with tensions over Iran mounting and the United States pulling its last soldiers out of Iraq.
It could also indicate that the chill between the United States and Saudi Arabia has thawed since the two longtime allies clashed over how each handled the Arab Spring.
The administration announced the sale during a week when Iranian officials threatened to close the strategically vital Straits of Hormuz in response to indications that the United States planned to impose tough sanctions on Iranian oil exports.
Saudi Arabia has long opposed Iran’s ambitions in the region — and the two countries’ relationship that soured further after the United States broke up what it said was an Iranian-backed plot to assassinate the Saudi ambassador to Washington.
Under the terms of the new weapons agreement, the United States will sell Saudi Arabia 84 F-15SA jets manufactured by the Boeing Corporation and upgrade 70 F-15’s in the Saudi fleet with munitions and parts. Washington will also offer help with training, maintenance and logistics.
“The agreement reinforces the strong and enduring relationship between the United States and Saudi Arabia, and demonstrates the U.S. commitment to a strong Saudi defense capability as a key component to regional security,” said Joshua R. Earnest, the deputy press secretary, in a statement issued in Hawaii, where Mr. Obama is vacationing with his family.
With the United States withdrawing its last troops from Iraq last week, the administration has been eager to demonstrate that it will remain a presence in the Middle East and Persian Gulf. It is pushing ahead with weapons sales to Iraq, even though internal political frictions there are deepening.
via U.S. to Sell F-15 Fighters to Saudi Arabia in Deal Worth $30 Billion – NYTimes.com.