2012-08-18 By Richard Weitz The GCC governments generally defer to Saudi leadership regarding Iraq. For years, the Saudi authorities have seen Iraqi Prime Minister al-Maliki as an Iranian agent, but it should not be forgotten that they also had poor relations with his predecessors, Ilyad Allawi and Ibrahim al-Jaafari, as well.…
[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="150" caption=" "][/caption] By Dr. Richard Weitz 01/08/2011 - The U.S. Government’s Conventional Arms Transfer Policy requires that major sales advance U.S. national interests, are consistent with the recipient country’s legitimate security needs, and support U.S. regional security objectives. The sales to Saudi Arabia are widely supported…
01/03/2012 by Richard Weitz On December 29, the Obama administration announced that the United States and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia have finalized the deal to provide advanced F-15SA combat aircraft to the Royal Saudi Air Force. The sale has gained widespread support within the U.S. defense community and will…
By Dr. Harald Malmgren 03/16/2011 - Underlying political instability in Bahrain is a fundamental conflict between the Sunni Arabs and the Shi'a Arabs. Bahrain is a Red Line for all Sunni royals and Sunni business and banking leaders in the Persian Gulf. Keep in mind that Bahrain is the banking…
By Dr. Richard Weitz 10/16 /2010 - The Pentagon’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency is expected to confirm soon an estimated $60 billion U.S. arms deal with Saudi Arabia. The unstated but widely understood purpose of the sale, which has been under discussion since 2007, is to enhance the Kingdom’s ability…
The video shows the operation of the boom on the new A330 tanker. The boom allows for much more rapid refueling than legacy tankers, greater security in operating the boom in night refueling operations and gives the aircraft an augmented capability to refuel more air platforms at the same time.…
