Trump Dumps Obama Saudi Policy, Inks ‘Historic’ Arms Deal

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson touted the “historic moment in U.S.-Saudi relations” as the two countries dedicated themselves to “a new strategic partnership” and announced Saturday a nearly $110 billion arms deal to boost the American economy and support Saudi Arabia’s military and counterterrorism operations.

The move represents a massive break from the policy towards Saudi Arabia pursued by former President Barack Obama. The Obama administration, eager to engage Iran, often ignored the protests of the nation’s Saudi allies against the nuclear deal inked with Tehran. The previous administration had also curtailed some military deals with the Saudis, citing disapproval of Saudi involvement and airstrikes in a longstanding Yemeni conflict.

“Today was truly a historic day in the relationship between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United States.”

The substantial new agreement indicates that President Donald Trump, unlike Obama, intends to repair relationships with traditional U.S. allies in Saudi Arabia and Israel to counteract the threat of terrorism and escalating Iranian aggression in the region.

“Today we announced 23 foreign-investment export licenses leading to upwards of more than $350 billion of historic direct investment,” Tillerson said at a joint press conference with Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir. Of that, he added, $109 billion “is in arms sales to bolster the security of our Saudi partners.” Tillerson noted that the deals will create “hundreds of thousands of American jobs.”

Following the signings, President Trump said the deal would mean “hundreds of billions of dollars of investments into the United States and jobs, jobs, jobs,” according to a press pool report.

White House press secretary Sean Spicer tweeted Saturday, “In Saudi Arabia @POTUS has just completed largest single arms deal in U.S. history, negotiating a package totaling more than $109.7 billion.”

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“Today was truly a historic day in the relationship between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United States, and we believe a turning point in the relationship between the United States and the Arab and Islamic world,” al-Jubeir said during the press conference.

“This is unprecedented. We have not had an agreement that was signed by the king of Saudi Arabia and the president to codify the strategic relationship and where we want to take it moving forward. So this was a great accomplishment,” al-Jubeir said, adding that Trump and King Salman had a “very good and very wide-ranging conversation” Saturday.

Tillerson noted the joint investments encompassed “five broad categories: border security and counterterrorism, maritime and coastal security, air force modernization, air and missile defense, cybersecurity and communications upgrades.” Tillerson also announced the creation of a new counterterrorism initiative with a new global center for combating extremist ideology, opening in Riyadh.

“At the core of our expanding relationship really are our shared security interests. America’s security at home is strengthened when Saudi Arabia’s security is strong as well,” Tillerson said. “This is an indication of the confidence the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has in the United States investment climate.”

Al-Jubeir concurred with Tillerson’s confidence in Trump, saying that Saudi Arabia holds “optimism that President Trump with a new approach and determination can bring a conclusion to this long conflict” in the Middle East.

“[Trump] certainly has the vision and we believe he has the strength and the decisiveness. And the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia stands prepared to work with the United States in order to bring about peace between Israelis and Palestinians and between Israelis and Arabs,” al-Jubeir said.

“The president is to be commended for his foresight and his vision in taking this very bold and very historic step, which has the potential of changing our world,” al-Jubeir added. “If we can change the conversation in the Islamic world from enmity towards the U.S. to partnership with the U.S., and if we can change the conversation in the U.S. and in the West from enmity toward the Islamic world to one of partnership, we will have truly changed our world and will have truly drowned the voices of extremism. And we will have drained the swamp from which this extremism and terrorism emanates.”

As several of the president’s top officials awaited Trump’s entrance just prior to the signing, the press pool reported that they appeared “in high spirits.” National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn said the arms deal would “invest a lot of money in the U.S. and have a lot of U.S. companies invest and build things over here,” Politico White House Reporter Annie Karni reported.

Ahead of his departure for Saudi Arabia Friday, the president tweeted, “Getting ready for my big foreign trip. Will be strongly protecting American interests — that’s what I like to do!”

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On Saturday, Trump tweeted, “Great to be in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Looking forward to the afternoon and evening ahead.”

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The Saudi Arabians eagerly anticipated the president’s visit to Riyadh and offered him an enthusiastic welcome as Trump stopped there first in his nine-day, five-nation sweep.

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Trump became the first U.S. president to choose the Muslim-majority Saudi Arabia as the site of his first overseas visit, and Saudi King Salman met Trump in person when he landed Saturday at the tarmac, approaching Trump and first lady Melania Trump as they descended from Air Force One onto the red carpet. The warm greeting was particularly notable given that in 2016, King Salman snubbed Obama and declined to meet the U.S. president on the tarmac upon his arrival.

The president will meet over the weekend with officials from the Gulf Cooperation Council, which includes countries such as the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Bahrain and Qatar.

“We are in the forefront of pushing for peace in the Middle East,” one Saudi official said, according to NBC News. “We will work with the administration and other regional partners to ensure that we have significant progress.”