IRAN/MIDDLE EAST/NUCLEAR/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “It’s the Middle East arms race that many people don’t want to talk about. The White House may be preoccupied with Iran’s past pursuit of nuclear weapons and its present strategic status in the region. But simmering nearby is another rapid militarization, conducted by a favored family of the White House, the House of Saud. US President Donald Trump’s fanfare over an arms deal with Saudi Arabia he boasted was worth $110 billion was dampened when, by October last year, it had generated only $14 billion in confirmed purchases. As if to make up for the shortfall, the administration last month sidestepped Congress and invoked emergency powers to expedite $8 billion in weapons sales to Riyadh, the UAE and a number of other countries in the face of what the White House has called the escalating Iran threat. While the US breathlessly pursued its favored ally, it insisted that Tehran curtail its military ambitions, or face further US action. But the Saudis aren’t just shopping in the US for arms, and they’re not just shopping for conventional weapons, either. Riyadh seems to be using its favored ally status and the general sense of geopolitical turmoil to sweep up whatever it can, including with Washington’s rivals.”
–Nick Paton Walsh, “Saudi Arabia and the arms race that you’ve not heard enough about,” CNN Politics, CNN.com, June 7, 2019 6:50 am