U.S.-Saudi Arms Deal

October 22, 2010

King Abdullah and President Obama (AP)

On Wednesday, October 20, the State department notified Congress of an arms deal with Saudi Arabia consisting of $60 billion in U.S. weapons and aircraft. The deal has been in the works since 2007. Congress has 30 days to block the deal. This sale represents the largest foreign arms deal in U.S. history, if fully carried out.

Middle East Bulletin (MEB) has been examining developments in Saudi Arabia over the years, including publishing a backgrounder on the country’s ties with states in the greater Middle East. In addition, following a 2008 U.S.-Saudi arms deal, MEB interviewed Rudy deLeon, former deputy security of defense and senior vice president of national security and international policy at the Center for American Progress (CAP), and previously CAP Senior Fellow Brian Katulis examined U.S.-Saudi relations and Saudi Arabia’s role in the region in an original piece for the Bulletin.

In-Depth Coverage

Original Commentaries

12/02/11: Discussion With Tunisia’s Rachid Ghannouchi —
12/02/11: Debating Military Action Against Iran —
12/02/11: Terms Of Disengagement —

Setting the Record Straight

Determined to Reach a Common Objective

“We knew at the outset that the task would be difficult. We acknowledged that publicly and privately. We knew this would be a road with many bumps— and there have been many bumps—and that continues to this day. But we are not deterred. We are, to the contrary, determined more than ever to proceed to realize the common objective, which we all share, of a Middle East that is at peace with security and prosperity for the people of Israel, for Palestinians, and for all the people in the region. We will continue our efforts in that regard, undeterred and undaunted by the difficulties, the complexities or the bumps in the road.”—George Mitchell, special envoy for Middle East peace, remarks with Prime Minister Netanyahu, September 29, 2010

Middle East Analysis

Don’t Panic. Yet —Issandr El Amrani (The Arabist)
The Islamists vs. The Markets: Egypt’s Election Analyzed —Haroon Moghul (Religion Dispatches)
What the Libya Intervention Achieved —Marc Lynch (Foreign Policy)

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