"A normal president wouldn't’: Why Trump decided to sell F-35s to Saudi Arabia

US President Donald Trump is all set to roll out a red carpet welcome to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who is visiting Washington for the first time after the murder of journalist Adnan Khashoggi.

While Trump and the Crown Prince have always enjoyed a warm relationship, this visit will see the Kingdom sign a number of deals with Washington, including a security guarantee to the kingdom — similar to the pact Trump agreed with Qatar in September — and one to cooperate on the development of a Saudi Arabian civilian nuclear programme. But the highlight of the visit is the sale of F-35 fighter jets.

Trump has already declared that the US would sell F-35 fighter jets to  Saudi Arabia, much to the dismay of Israel, which is currently the only  country in the Middle East to possess the advanced stealth jet.

While the deal might face roadblocks in the US Congress, especially  over fears that the technology could fall into the hands of China, experts believe the sale wouldn’t have happened if not for Trump as President.  

Analyst and former US Assistant Secretary of Defense Lawrence J Korb believes that the reason why the Trump administration decided to move  ahead with the deal is because “he has a special relationship with Saudi Arabia, in addition to his family having a special relationship due to the investments they own there.

“The deal would not have been possible under any president other than  Trump. Saudi Arabia is fundamentally not the type of country we would  give this advanced equipment to. It is not a democracy, and it did not join the Abraham Accords, so they are still keeping a considerable distance from Israel,”  Korb told Al Araby.

On how Trump chose to ignore Israel’s concerns regarding the deal, Korb said: “A normal president wouldn't make this decision, but Trump doesn't care.”

He wants to have a good relationship with Saudi Arabia since his first presidential term, and before all the things that happened in Gaza, and all of this is because of his business interests," he said, adding that Trump had been different in his dealings with Saudi Arabia before, and that he had hoped for it to join the Abraham Accords.

That said, the Trump administration still need approval from  both the House and Senate for the sale to clear. The sale can be blocked if both the House and Senate pass a resolution of disapproval.  

There are reports that many House Republicans are wary of the deal, especially due to the Kingdom’s close connection with China. “If you want the F-35, maybe you should think twice about conducting military exercises with China,” Brad Bowman, an analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a conservative think-tank, said last week, referring to a recent joint naval exercise that the Saudis conducted with the Chinese.

 

Middle East