Alwaght- The US is working hard to ink a series of arms deals for Saudi Arabia worth of hundreds of billions dollar, despite the regime’s ongoing aggression on neighboring Yemen that has killed over 12,000 people since March 2015.
A senior White House official, who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity, said on Friday the arms package could end up surpassing more than $300 billion over a decade, a week ahead of President Donald Trump's planned visit to Riyadh.
"We are in the final stages of a series of deals," the official said. The package is being developed to coincide with Trump's visit to Saudi Arabia. Trump has chosen the Persian Gulf kingdom as destination for his first foreign visit.
The United States has been the main supplier for most Saudi military needs, from F-15 fighter jets to command and control systems worth tens of billions of dollars in recent years, ignoring international call for an end to Al Saud regime which is blamed for committing war crimes in Yemen.
Saudi Arabia launched a deadly aggression against its southern neighbor Yemen on 27 March 2015 in a bid to restore power to Yemen's resigned president who fled to Riyadh after Yemeni people's uprising in 2015.
Over 12,000 Yemenis, mostly civilians including women and children, have been killed during the Saudi-led aggression.
Washington and its oil-rich ally Riyadh have also been negotiating over arms and maintenance, ships, air missile defense and maritime security, the official said.
The official added: "It's good for the American economy but it will also be good in terms of building a capability that is appropriate for the challenges of the region. Israel would still maintain an edge."
The US and UK have been providing logistic and intelligence support to Riyadh in its war against defenseless Yemenis, while equipping the kingdom’s military forces with a wide array of weapons including illegal munitions like cluster bombs.
Saudi Arabia was the world’s second largest arms importer in 2016 after India, purchasing over $15 billion in weapons, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
Human Rights Group have repeatedly condemned western countries arms sale to Saudi Arabia whom they accuse of committing blatant war crimes against poorest Arab nation of Yemen.
Amnesty International has recently censured the US and UK for their “shameful” weapons transfers to Saudi Arabia, saying Washington and London were fueling the serious human rights violations and war crimes in Yemen committed by Riyadh.
Amnesty said the US and UK have sold over $5 billion worth of weapons to the Riyadh regime since the onset of the war, more than 10 times the $450 million they have allegedly spent to help save Yemeni civilians.
Saudi Arabia has conducted at least 58 “unlawful airstrikes” since the start of the Saudi-led military intervention in Yemen “with direct military support from the US and assistance from the UK,” according to a report in October by Human Rights Watch.
Despite spending billions of dollars on the full-scale war, however, Saudi Arabia has failed to achieve its pre-determined goals.
Saudi Arabia Spending $68 Million to Host Donald Trump
The Saudi regime is reportedly spending $68 million to host US President Donald Trump amid austerity measures hurting citizens in the kingdom.
According to a leaked ‘secret and urgent’ letter by Saudi King Salman to the country’s finance minister indicates that the kingdom has allocated 257 million Rials [nearly $68 million] to the preparations for hosting US President Trump.
The document mentioned that the amount will be paid to fund the Arab-American summit in addition to all the events and the entertainment expenses.
Statements by White House officials said Trump will leave Washington on May 19 to Saudi Arabia before proceeding to Tel Aviv.
This colossal amount of money is being splashed to host Trump while Saudi authorities have approved an austerity policy which has been popularly rejected due to its devastating effects on the deteriorating living standards in the kingdom.
Observers are cofounded by Trump’s decision to make Saudi Arabia the first stop on his inaugural foreign trip as US president. This move is yet another radical turnaround who in early 2016, asked the hosts on Fox & Friends: “Who blew up the World Trade Center? It wasn't the Iraqis, it was Saudi — take a look at Saudi Arabia, open the documents."
