US benefiting from Saudi royals’ 'profligacy' by selling arms

The Western countries - notably the United States and the UK - have tried to take advantage of Saudi Arabia’s “wealth and corruption” by selling arms to the kingdom.

News ID: 447479

Date: 13 October 2019 - 17:29

RNA - They have long benefited from the “boundless profligacy” of the Saudi royal family, selling large amounts of arms and weapons systems to the kingdom, Press TV’s “Underreported” program reported on Saturday.

At another level, Western businesses, key personalities and even actors have been keen to benefit from the largesse of Saudi royals, notably the princes who vacation in Western Europe and North America.

“Decades of uncontrolled behavior at home … has installed a deep sensed of indulgence and self-entitlement into the minds of the Saudi princes. The result is reckless, lawless and even dangerous behavior”, the program reported.

Washington has formally approved weapons sales to the kingdom totaling more than $1 billion despite growing pressure from rights groups to halt arms deals with Riyadh which is waging a brutal war in Yemen.

The United States has also announced to deploy a large number of additional forces and equipment to Saudi Arabia, including air defenses and fighter aircraft, a move that officials say will help the kingdom protect itself against the kind of attacks that last month destroyed its oil facilities.

Last month, Yemen’s Houthi Ansarullah movement conducted retaliatory drone and missile strikes on two of Saudi Arabia’s oil facilities. The attacks led to a halt in about 50 percent of the Arab kingdom’s crude and gas production, causing a surge in oil prices.

On Friday, Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman said in a statement that US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper has authorized the deployment of additional forces, including two fighter squadrons, two Patriot batteries, and a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense System (THAAD).

Meanwhile, President Donald Trump said Friday that Washington was sending more troops to Saudi Arabia to help them, but added Riyadh had agreed to "pay us for everything we’re doing."

The US has been supporting a 2015-present Saudi war against Yemen that seeks to bring back the impoverished country’s former Riyadh-backed officials. The American patronage has featured aerial refueling, which the US only stopped earlier in the year after the Saudi-led coalition grew independent of it, as well as logistical and commando support.

Tens of thousands have died since the onset of the war, and the entire Yemen has been pushed close to the edge of outright famine.

A year after the war was launched, Trump made his maiden foreign visit to Saudi Arabia, announcing more than $100 billion in arms sales to the kingdom.

847/940