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But his remarks miss the call of an essential fact: up to now, Saudi Arabia has only made $ 14.5 billion in purchases.
The agreement reached last year between the United States and Saudi Arabia was only a memorandum of intent to achieve nearly $ 110 billion in arms sales over the next 10 years. For the moment, Saudi Arabia has only signed letters of offer and acceptance – official purchase contracts already approved by Congress or in progress approval – for $ 14.5 billion in purchases, according to a Pentagon official.
"I know they're talking about different types of sanctions, but they are spending $ 110 billion on military equipment and job-creating elements, like jobs, among others, for the country," Trump said. . "I do not like the idea of stopping a $ 110 billion investment in the US Because you know what they're going to do, they're going to take that money and the spend in Russia, China or elsewhere. "
Trump suggested that there are "other things we can do" to impose consequences on Saudi Arabia, but he did not specify what another sanction would look like. And US officials have been cautious in their comments on Khashoggi.
The United States has not yet confirmed the Turkish thesis that Khashoggi was allegedly killed at the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul, even though Turkey had provided evidence that Khashoggi had entered the consulate and was Had never been out there. Saudi Arabia has denied these allegations but has not yet provided any evidence that Khashoggi has left the consulate or is alive.
While Trump said Thursday that the cancellation of arms sales to Saudi Arabia was ruled out, he faces increasing bipartite pressure from members of Congress who call on Trump to impose heavy consequences in Saudi Arabia.
The $ 110 billion deal included Saudi Arabia's pledges to purchase tanks, fighter jets, combat ships and a sophisticated missile defense system, dubbed THAAD. – some that Saudi Arabia wants to buy for years.
Saudi purchases of US weapons are however not new. The kingdom has long promised to buy more US weapons that its forces could not absorb and use because they were seeking to gain influence in the United States.
Saudi Arabia's long-standing investments in US arms, spare parts and logistic equipment have allowed US defense contractors to have a high volume of defense equipment. constant money.
Although much of the announced purchases have not yet been finalized, Trump has repeatedly praised the deal as a marker of his bargaining abilities and his efforts to boost manufacturing in the United States. HWe have also downplayed the cost of US military support for the Saudi regime by the Saudi regime, seeking to generate even greater financial windfall from the regime.
Much of the deal was also personally negotiated by Jared Kushner, the president's son-in-law and senior advisor, who forged close ties with Mohammad bin Salman, better known as the MBS, Saudi Crown Prince.
Kushner served as an intermediary between Saudi officials and defense industry leaders, including by personally phoning Marillyn Hewson, CEO of Lockheed Martin, to ask him to reduce the price of the missile defense system. THAAD to allow the Saudis to buy it.
In the end, the way the United States reacts to the alleged assassination of Khashoggi depends much more than an agreement on multibillion dollar weapons.
US officials and allies expect the White House to stand firm against what appears to be a blatant violation of human rights and an effort to silence the dissent of the current Saudi regime.
In the Middle East, the White House has also devoted a large part of its program to the growing partnership with Saudi Arabia and to new leaders of the MBS. The rapprochement of the United States with Saudi Arabia is played in the field of the fight against terrorism in the Middle East, the increasingly uncompromising position adopted by the United States against Iran and even the United States. Administration efforts – led by Kushner – to negotiate Israeli-Palestinian peace.
