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The Obama administration has finalized an arms deal worth $122.8bn to the oil rich Sunni Arab Persian Gulf states. $67bn, more than half, of that is for Saudi Arabia. The latter only constitutes the largest arms sale in American history. This deal was initially negotiated under the Bush administration and is meant to contain Iran.
In an almost implicit symbol that the United States has ruled out force against Iran and settled for a Cold War-policy of containment if Iran acquires a nuclear weapon, this heavy armament of American clients or allies, whatever you want, is meant to compliment America's own military presence in the region and check Iran ambitions for regional dominance.
It is because of the goal of containing Iran and because many Arab leaders share Israel's fear of a dominant Iranian regime that the state of Israel has not protested this arms deal. The United States, it should be noted, always first gets clearance from Israel when selling arms to Arabs. This is the doctrine of Qualitative Military Edge (QME) inaugurated during Reagan’s tenure to ensure that all U.S. arms sales to the region favor Israeli military hegemony. This goes beyond American turning a blind eye to Israeli nukes while opposing any other nation seeking capability, and dictates American arms sales whereby Israel is not only guaranteed $3billion in annual military aid but also exclusively sold the most advanced weaponry, given a right to large quantities and ‘freebies’, while Arabs states are restricted to lesser weapons in smaller sales.
And the Obama administration has reformed part of the arms package and removed from high-grade weaponry due to Israeli objection. But in its current form the Israeli government has not voiced objection. Nonetheless some members of Congress are still raising alarm over the arms deal:
The Obama administration’s decision to sell as much as $60 billion in weapons to Saudi Arabia has prompted concerns from the top Democrat and Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, according to a letter being circulated for lawmakers’ signatures. California Democrat Howard Berman and Florida Republican Ileana Ros-Lehtinen are seeking support from other members of the U.S. House of Representatives for a letter outlining concerns and questions to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Defense Secretary Robert Gates.
The two members referenced are amongst the most hawkish pro-Israel members in the House, irrespective of their liberal or conservative beliefs. Their effort seemingly runs counter to Israel's own declared policy and interest. The objection could be due to either a faction of the Israel lobby which still opposes the deal no matter what Tel Aviv says or it could be an Israeli effort to humiliate Saudi Arabia and underline Israel's power on Capital Hill to Arab regimes in an cause to make Arab regimes more deferential toward Israel.
