Saudi Crown Prince Returns from Washington with $1.3 Billion Grab Bag

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, presently the kingdom’s defense minister and in the near future, king, wrapped up his trip to Washington with an array of military hardware worth some $2.3 billion green-lighted by the Trump administration. The package includes more than $ 1 billion in missiles alone. Also in the mix is the Paladin howitzer system – a sophisticated mobile artillery piece. While it is doubtful that Congress will try to halt the sale, it comes amid growing concern about the escalating conflict in Yemen where the Saudis are effectively fighting a proxy war through the coalition it is leading as it faces off against the Iranian-backed Houthis, which have been firing missiles into the Saudi homeland of late. Some see the new arms package as fuel for increased devastation and humanitarian crises. As large as the current arms sale is, it is only a fraction of the $110 billion President Trump referred to a year ago – an amount some have predicted will rise to more than $300 billion before it is finished. Of note is the lack of objection from Jerusalem which normally raises concerns that such sales will impede the promised qualitative and quantitative edges in military capabilities for the Jewish state.